A 16-year-old girl from Osogbo, Osun State, has accused her stepfather, a clergy known as Femi, of impregnating her when she was 13 years old. The victim, seeking an alternative dispute resolution, reported the issue to the World Institute for Peace (WIP), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
In an affidavit sworn at the Osun State Ministry of Justice, the victim claimed that after Femi impregnated her, the pregnancy was terminated. She reported the abuse to her school teacher after enduring approximately four years of ongoing mistreatment by her stepfather.
At a meeting organized by WIP, the victim detailed the abuse, saying: “Femi started having sexual intercourse with me when I was 12. When I was 13 years old, I got pregnant and he took me to a hospital for an abortion. He asked me to lie to the doctor that my classmate impregnated me and ran away. The first time he had intercourse with me was on my mother’s bed, and he has been doing it continuously.”
She explained her reluctance to pursue legal action, stating: “I decided not to take the matter to court because my mother had four children with him, although two are deceased. I don’t want a situation whereby when the children grow up, it would be as if I am the one who sent their father to prison. I decided not to take legal action because of his children who are my younger siblings.”
During the meeting, Femi, who is also a commercial motorcyclist and the pastor of a church he established, admitted to the abuse.
He said: “It is true I slept with her, although I don’t remember the number of times I did it with her. I’m a pastor, and it was God who told me to sleep with her. God also told me to abort the pregnancy.”
The affidavit sworn by the victim’s mother read: “My daughter went to the human rights organization, World Institute for Peace, and reported a case of defilement and abortion against her stepfather, Femi, early in August 2024.
“She agreed to resolve the dispute through alternative dispute resolution and has engaged in negotiation. The family is not ready to pursue any case whatsoever with Mr. Femi any longer. The purpose of withdrawing was as a result of a settlement between the families which she was the sole proponent of.”
Lamina Omotoyosi, chairman of WIP, urged parents to protect their children, especially from close family members, and lamented the increasing cases of incest in the state.
