Parents and adults generally have responsibility to care for, educate,
and discipline children but when the children begin to detest the
parents, then the situation calls for concern.
13 -year-old Blessing Chia allegedly fell victim to regular beating by
his step father, Mr Benjamin Richard, 35, who, as she claimed, later
lusted after her.
The allegation by the girl that the step father serially raped her to
the point of her getting pregnant is a subject of police
investigations.
Blessing told Sunday Vanguard, "The first time my mother was not
around, he took cane and was beating me and told me that if I messed
up, he would kill me, that if I shouted or if my mummy heard anything
about it, he was going to kill me.
"So the one that happened on Thursday, November 13, 2014, I told him
that I would tell my mummy and I dared to see if he would kill me. So
l told my mummy.
(Photo: Richard,the suspect, strongly denies allegation)
He raped me four times, the first time was when my mother travelled to
Makurdi, Benue State.''
Blessing's mother, Mrs Grace Richard, 30, said her daughter reported
to her that the stepfather raped her but her husband denied it when
she confronted him.
She confirmed that it was during the period she traveled to her home
state (Benue) and left her daughter in the care of her stepfather that
he first allegedly raped her.
''That was two months ago when I travelled to Makurdi and she told me
immediately I came back," the mother said.
"My husband denied and even threatened to beat me black and blue if l
ever asked him such a question again".
Grace said she was not, in the real sense of it, married to the father
of Blessing whom she had at the age of 17 before the father died in a
motor accident last year.
Blessing's mother said she and her current husband have been together
for four years during which she had a boy child for him. The boy, she
said, lives with her mother-in-law.
Mrs Martina Moses, Grace's elder sister, told Blessing's story to
Sunday Vanguard.
''I was in Gwagalape on Thursday when my sister called me around 5pm
to help settle an issue Blessing had with a neighbour over SIM card.''
She continued: ''While in their house, I saw my sister's husband and I
asked him where my sister was. He said my sister was on her way to
home, that he sent her to collect money from a friend.
''I then asked after my niece, Blessing. Richard got angry and said
the girl was very stubborn, that he was going to tie her up in a room
before dropping me off .
He said if he didn't tie the girl up, she would run away. He tied the
girl's hands and feet in my presence. I pleaded on my niece's behalf
with his stepfather to no avail.
''Later that night, my sister came to my house around 11pm and I asked
her what she was doing outside that late. She told me that her husband
was threatening her.
''Grace was afraid to go back home because she was sure Richard would
beat her up. That prompted her to go to her elder sister, Martina's
house, so that Martina could follow her back home in order to stop
Richard carrying out his threat of beating her. And because it was
late in the night, Grace was forced to pass the night at the elder
sister's place.
''The following day, being Friday, Martina sent somebody to Richard's
place to bring Blessing. But rather releasing Blessing to the man
Martina sent, Richard took the girl on his motorcycle to Martina's
house himself.
''On getting to Martina's house, Blessing ran into her aunty's arms,
and wept profusely after which she claimed that her mother's husband
raped her four times.
''After listening to Blessing, Martina said she took the girl to
Richard and asked her to repeat what she told her inside in the
presence of the stepfather and Blessing repeated everything.
"Right there, l told my sister and her husband that the rape issue
will not be swept under the carpet. l asked my brother to go and
report the issue at a police station, but my brother advised that we
first report the matter to Richard's mother. It was then that
Richard's mother said we should take Blessing for test, and that took
us to Aso police station where we were referred to Nyanya police
station since the alleged rape took place in Nyanya.
"When we got to Nyanya police station, the police interrogated the
stepfather and he denied yet again. It was at that point the police
locked him up.
''The police told Richard that the only thing that could save him was
if the result of the test indicated that Blessing was still a virgin,
but the test showed that Blessing had not only been deflowered but
also pregnant.
Meanwhile, the police that had the hospital report with them did not
disclose the number of weeks Blessing has been pregnant.
--Vanguard
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