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A Bayelsa State High Court, sitting in Yenagoa has sentenced a 41-year-old father, Baridapsi Needam, to 14 years imprisonment for raping and impregnating his daughter.
The victim, however, gave birth to a baby girl in the pendency of the trial.
The accused, Needam, in the suit numbered YHC/14C/2022 was charged with the offence of rape contrary to Section 1(1) of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law of Bayelsa State, 2021.
The State Prosecuting Counsel and Deputy Director in the Bayelsa State Ministry of Justice, Pere Amanda Egbuson, told the court that investigations revealed that the accused, Needam began defiling his daughter when she was seven years old by inserting his fingers into her vagina and started having sex with her in 2020 until she got pregnant in 2022.
The Presiding Judge, Justice D.E Adokeme, while delivering the judgment stated that the prosecution led credible evidence and made reference to the DNA result which revealed a 99.99 per cent positive report that the convict is the father of the child.
The court ruled that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Needam committed the offence of rape and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment.
Speaking after the judgment, the lead prosecuting counsel, Pere Amanda Egbuson, noted that the judgment will serve as a deterrent to others who engage in unimaginable acts, noting that a strong message has been sent that the court will not tolerate such heinous acts.
She thanked the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo SAN for his immense support in ensuring that the DNA analysis was carried out to aid the prosecution in pursuit of justice in the case.
Also commenting on the development, an advocate against violence against women and founder of Do Foundation, Dr Dise Ogbise Goddy Harry, said the CSOs in the state are excited with the court’s judgment.
According to her, “the state government through the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the Bayelsa State Gender Response Initiative Team has done well by keeping the victim safe and the innocent baby safe too. This should sound like a warning to all paedophiles to stay clear of our children.”
Recall that the convicted father, Baridap Needman, who hails from Ogani Wily Kaira Community in Ogoni in Rivers State, was petitioned to the police by members of the State Gender Advocacy group, Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT) in 2022 when a concerned neighbour noticed that the victim was five months pregnant and that the father was responsible for the pregnancy.
The convicted father was reported to have replaced his deceased wife with his daughter on his matrimonial bed. While the 14-year-old girl, who was in JSS III, was sleeping with her father on the bed, her two younger brothers were made to sleep on the floor.
