…says I refused his further advances when I got born again
- It’s not true, she’s a liar – Uncle
A teenager, Mariam Odunuga, has accused her 76-year-old grandfather, Johnson Odunuga, of having illicit sexual affair with her for over a year.
Mariam, said to have been living with her grandfather at his Ijede, Ikorodu, Lagos, residence since she was eight, following a disagreement between her own parents, alleged that the septuagenarian was always pestering her for sex.
According to the 16-year-old girl, her grandfather had in the past one year had sex with her “at least, twice a week.”
She, however, said having got born again and baptised in the church, she decided to stop having such an illicit affair with her grandfather, who allegedly insisted on having his way with her.
The teenager said that when her grandfather persisted in his demand for sex with her, she decided to report the matter to a Non-Governmental Organisation, Child Protection Network, which took up the case and lodged a complaint with the police.
Narrating her ordeal, Mariam said, “My grandfather has been sleeping with me in the past one year. Whenever he approaches me, he usually robs his penis against my vagina and he would discharge the semen on the floor.
“But since I became born again and I was baptized in the church, I refused to allow him to do those things with me again.
“He was angry, but he continued to disturb me. So, I decided to report the matter to the Child Protection Network.”
The teenager’s uncle, Mr. Tunde Odunuga, denied that his own father could descend so low to engage his grand-daughter in such an illicit sexual affair.
My grandfather has been sleeping with me in the past one year. Whenever he does that, he would discharge the semen on the floor
“I don’t think my father can do such a thing. I have always known him to be a decent father. These allegations cannot be true,” he said.
Mariam’s mother, however, said although the septuagenarian was “very fond” of the teenager, it was unthinkable that he could be involved in such an “abusive affair” with the minor.
She said, “The girl’s grandfather (Odunuga) is very close to her. He is very passionate about her and does not like doing anything that could provoke her, even if she does something wrong and she deserves to be scolded or punished, baba (Odunuga) will not do anything or say something stern to her that will show discipline. He is too soft and gentle with her.
“So, from Baba’s actions, some of us (family members) started suspecting that something unusual might be going on between the two of them. But nobody was able to confront baba as we could only frown on his manner of raising the girl. On many occasions we had complained, but there was no change at all. Sometimes Mariam would talk back at baba rudely and he would not do anything to correct her.”
The Divisional Police Officer of Ijede, who did not want to be identified, described the incident as a “bad case.”
He said that the alleged abuse of the teenager by her grandfather was difficult to confirm because there was no evidence to prove it.
Our correspondent, however, learnt that plans were on by the family to send the teenager back to her mother’s home in Bariga, where she would continue her education.
