It was like a nightmare for 40-year-old Ashimu Aliyu when he heard the news of the defilement of his three-month-old baby by a 27-year-old man, Ahmed Yaro, at Adogi village, Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The incident, which occurred on May 27, 2020, threw the entire community into bewilderment as many wondered what could lead to such a dastardly act in the village.
However, Ashimu’s daughter was not the only victim of Yaro in the community. Three other minors were allegedly defiled by the suspect arrested by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Yaro’s acts were termed as a strange one among the rape cases recorded in recent times across the 13 local government areas and 18 local council development areas of the state.
Since Ashimu learnt of the rape of his daughter, pain has gripped his body, describing the suspected rapist as a ‘demon’ unfit to live among humans.
He said his daughter was severely injured in her private parts and had been unable to defecate ever since she was defiled. He added that she needed surgery for her to defecate normally again and treat other injuries done to her.
“The (suspected) rapist has destroyed my baby’s life. It is only God that will make our baby to survive the operation. He (the suspected rapist) inflicted serious injuries on our baby’s private parts,” he said.
Ashimu’s wife, Memunat, could not stop wondering why her daughter was defiled. “What on earth could our innocent baby have done to Yaro that made him sneak into our room, abducted our three-month-old baby and defiled her?” she wondered.
Meanwhile, since Yaro’s arrest, other parents in the community have accused the suspect of also defiling their daughters.
Parents of a three-year-old girl, simply identified as Aisha, accused Yaro of defiling their daughter when she was five months old. Other victims of Yaro were four-year-old Amina, reportedly raped by the suspect when she was nine-month-old. Another victim, simply identified as Khadijat, five, was allegedly raped by Yaro when she was one year and five months old.More in Home
Speaking with our correspondent after his arrest, the suspect revealed that he had raped some babies in the past. He said, “I regret defiling the girl. She was the fourth baby I defiled. Others were also all less than two years old. I was defiling her in an uncompleted building when I heard a motorcycle heading my way. I tried to run away.”
Meanwhile, the state commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Muhammad Gidado-Fari, said the suspect blamed his acts on mental illness.
Speaking on Gidado-Fari’s behalf during Yaro’s parade, the deputy commandant of the state NSCDC, Mr Bisi Olugboyega, said the suspect would be charged to court.
Also, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Bola Longe, said investigations were ongoing regarding the incidents.
Meanwhile, the wife of the state governor, Mrs Silifat Sule, condemned Yaro’s acts, describing them as barbaric, evil, and devilish.null
In an interview with our correspondent during the victims’ parents’ visit to her, she decried the high cases of rape in the state and demanded stiffer punishments against perpetrators.
Sule said incessant rape cases and other forms of child abuse had become a source of worry to her as a mother and other mothers in the state.
“Enough is enough; stop raping our children. We want a law to prosecute anyone caught raping. We are tired of this habit,” she said.
She added that her office would work with the office of the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Abdulkareem Kana, to ensure speedy prosecution of rapists.
“Henceforth, I will pay the medical bills of victims and support their families to cushion the effect of the trauma they go through. I am pained by what happened to the babies, especially the three-month-old baby in Adogi community of Lafia,” she said.
Following Yaro’s arrest, the state House of Assembly has promised to enact a law to protect women against rape.
In a statement, the Speaker, Mr Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi, said during a march against rape by a women group to the assembly that the law would punish those found guilty of rape.
“Cases of rape are on the increase across the country. What is happening to our mothers, wives, and daughters is uncalled for and unfortunate,” he said.
The leader of the protest, who is a former Secretary to the State Government and an ex-Amirat of the state chapter of the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said they came to solicit the lawmakers’ support against rape.
Meanwhile, the Paramount ruler of Adogi, Alhaji Hamidu Adogi, said when he heard of the baby’s defilement, he was devastated.
“I invited the clergy to pray that the suspect should be arrested and God has answered our prayers,” he said.
“Ahmadu Yaro has made my town famous, but on a bad note,” he said in an emotional voice.
