Operatives of the Bayelsa State Police Command have apprehended an 80-year-old man for allegedly defiling a 10-year-old girl at Otuokpoti community in Ogbia local government area of the state.
The suspect who was simply identified as Pa. Stephen was said to be a serial paedophile by an advocacy group, Dise Ogbise Foundation, and indigenes as he was also said to be suffering from advanced piles and hernia.
Pa Stephen was taken to the Divisional Police Headquarters at Ogbia Town on the insistence of the gender advocacy group.
A statement by the gender advocacy group said the foster mother of the victim disclosed to correspondents that she noticed that the girl was showing signs of illness and absent-mindedness while performing chores.
It was gathered that Stephen had been defiling the minor for about a year before neighbours told the victim’s foster mother that they had seen him giving some money to the young girl.
The statement said, “Many of the neighbours warned the foster mother that they noticed that the elderly accused gave some money to the kid and warned the foster mother to be alert. They warned her that the elderly accused was a serial paedophile.
“On the fateful day, a concerned member of the community noticed the child entering the old man’s house on her way from school. She immediately raised an alarm and they forcefully rescued her. The victim admitted that the defilement started last year.”
Founder of the Foundation, Dise Harry, told newsmen that it took joint efforts of the gender advocacy groups to ensure the accused was arrested and remanded in police custody.
He disclosed that the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Bayelsa State Chapter, also assisted in providing medical support and examination but added that the minor will also undergo psychological examination.
According to her, the victim has been placed in protective custody under the Bayelsa State Government through the Ministry of Women Affairs.
“It is sad that such is happening. It is a red flag to all of us,” she said.
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Musa Mohammed, is yet to react to this development at the time of filing this report.
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