The Nigerian Police Force has issued a stern warning regarding the severe penalties associated with engaging in sexual relations with children under the age of 13.
According to the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, in a post on X on Sunday, anyone found guilty of this crime will face life imprisonment.
Edafe said, “Sexual intercourse with either a boy or a girl under the age of 13 years is considered defilement, and the punishment, if found guilty, is life imprisonment as stipulated in Section 218 of the Criminal Code (CC).”
The police further clarified that in cases of defilement, consent is irrelevant, and such offences cannot be settled privately.
“In this case, consent is immaterial and such offenses can’t be compounded. Going to court and swearing to an affidavit won’t work,” Edafe stated.
Additionally, the police warned that parents or guardians who attempt to cover up instances of defilement could also face legal consequences.
“Any parent who tries to cover defilement could be charged to court for aiding and abetting,” Edafe added.
In related news, a 65-year-old cleric, identified as Francis Ogwu, has been arrested by operatives of the Anambra State Police Command for allegedly raping his seven-year-old domestic help.
According to the media aide to the Anambra Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Miss Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, the cleric was arrested following an alarm raised by concerned residents of the town.
The commissioner stated that the suspect, a pastor and the General Overseer of Jesus House of Joy Church, Awka, confessed to just fingering the girl, and denied allegations of penetration, as levied by the victim.
Ogwu attributed his action to temptation, saying his wife usually denied him sex and that she made excuses of fasting whenever he desired her.
Meanwhile, the seven-year-old, who narrated her side of the story, said the suspect had carnal knowledge of her over three times.
She informed the commissioner that her guardian, Ogwu, usually gave her money ranging from N500 to N1,000 after each experience.
She also disclosed that, at some point, she was accused by the pastor’s wife of snatching the husband from her.
The girl noted that what prompted her to leave was the beating she got by the suspect’s daughter at the slightest mistake.
