A primary five pupil (name withheld) has alleged that her guardian, Bernard Uzi has been having sex with her since 2020.
Uzi has been arrested by the police in Alausa for allegedly defiling the minor living with him.
Joke Ladenegan-Oginni, spokesperson, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), in a statement on Saturday, said DSVA received a report from a mandated reporter of an alleged defilement of a nine-year-old pupil by Uzi who is her guardian.
“It was reported that the primary 5 pupil of the school confided in her class teacher. She revealed that her dad (Guardian) had been having sexual intercourse with her since 2020. The teacher promptly escalated the incident to the school authority.
“Armed with this vital information, the survivor was immediately referred to Mirabel centre for medical attention. The Mirabel result revealed that the survivor had indeed been penetrated multiple times. The case was immediately reported at Alausa police station and the suspect was subsequently arrested at around 12:30am on the 8th of February, 2023,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the alleged perpetrator was arraigned before Magistrate E. Kubeinje on the 9th of February, 2023.
“The Agency reiterates the State’s zero tolerance stance and insists that there is help for survivors even as we remain committed in ensuring perpetrators are held accountable for their actions,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Lagos moves to tackle negligence among school officials in handling children
The Lagos State Government on Tuesday vowed to step up its monitoring of schools in order to ensure that officials put in proper measures to ensure the protection of children.
Executive Secretary, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi spoke at a Stakeholders’ Meeting for the 2022 Intervention Report on Safeguarding and Child Protection in Schools in Lagos State.
According to Vivour-Adeniyi, while in school, some children had been physically and sexual abused, saying that the state government really frowned at such.
She said:”We had a couple of sexual abuse allegations made against teachers, school bus drivers, janitors. We had physical abuse, sexual abuse.”
The Executive Secretary stated that majority of the cases could had been avoided if relevant safeguarding measures were put in place in the schools.
Vivour-Adeniyi revealed how two children were killed in 2022 as a result of negligence from school officials.
She disclosed that the first death was a case of drowning at the school pool, while the second was a case of the child being ran down by a vehicle, after crossing the school gate, without vigilance from the school officials.
She said the Joint Task Force on Safeguarding and Child Protection, in the past one year, visited several schools where it received child protection and safeguarding concerns, saying that as a result of these visitations, the Task Force came up with the end of year report.
