ABI (CONVERSEER) – The people of Ediba Community in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State have forced one Mr Prayer to marry his 13-year-old biological daughter after allegedly impregnating her.
The abominable act has forced the community to also impose a fine of N150,000 on the suspect.
“The victim was impregnated by her father, Mr Prayer, and was asked by the community to pay a fine of N150,000, as well as marry her as punishment for the sacrilegious act,” an anonymous source told CrossRiverWatch.
The source further alleged that, “The mother of the pregnant girl had separated from her husband (Prayer) due to his misconduct for about a year and left Ediba for Lagos, leaving the victim with her father.”
The community is in disbelief, describing the alleged act as barbaric and sacrilegious.
Sexual and violent acts against children (minors) are a high offence in Cross River State following the signing of the Child Protection Act enacted in 2009 into law by former Governor Ben Ayade in 2023.
The law seeks to protect the rights of every child from all forms of abuse, including sexual harassment.
A survey conducted in the state and Akwa Ibom by Project Alert in 2012 shows that sexual crime against minors is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the region.
“In that survey, we discovered that 77 per cent of victims of sexual violence were children between zero and 17 years, and these children can be found mostly in schools,” Ms Nsini Udonta, Senior Programme Officer for Project Alert on Sexual Violence in School, stated during a close-out meeting on sexual violence and young persons in academic institutions in Calabar, on Tuesday.
Similarly, Dr Gloria Bassey, Chief Consultant of the Project in Cross River, said many of them only knew sexual violence as rape, there were no reporting mechanisms and students who even tried to report only reported to their friends and peers because they did not trust their school counsellors, principals and parents.
She noted that there were also no mechanisms for interventions for students who had suffered sexual violence, so they set up the “Kasa” clubs in the schools with the objectives of educating students on all the forms of sexual violence and reporting mechanisms.
“Courtesy of these clubs, we have had a lot of successes, cases have been handled, students now speak up in their communities, and there have been a lot of behavioural modifications,” she added.
All eyes are on the Cross River State Government, especially the wife of the Governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, regarding the action it will take on the matter.
