A 37-year-old guard, Wasiu Orilonise, has confessed to an Oyo State Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ibadan that he raped his 15-year-old daughter in order to ascertain her virginity and protect her.

Orilonise begged the court not to punish him as he had carnal knowledge of the victim for protection and to confirm if she was still a virgin.

The accused was arraigned on one count of having unlawful carnal knowledge of his daughter.

The prosecutor, Mr Sunday Ogunremi, told the court that the accused had sometime in December 2018 at Omo village, Agbofieti, Ibadan, in the Ibadan Magisterial District, raped the victim without her consent.

Ogunremi said the offence was contrary to and punishable under Section 34, sub-sections 1 and 2 of the Child Rights Law of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2006.

The plea of the accused was, however, not taken during the arraignment.

When the Chief Magistrate, Mr Taiwo Olaniran, sought to know what pushed him into defiling his biological daughter, Orilonise said since he lost his wife a few years ago, he had been taking care of the victim and her siblings.

He told the court that he committed the act in order to protect his daughter.

Orilonise said the incident happened when he was trying to ascertain if the victim had lost her virginity, adding that upon discovering that she was still a virgin, he started having sex with her regularly before she would leave for school and at night.

The magistrate berated fathers, who were fond of sexually abusing their daughters and other under-aged girls, saying they were allowing the devil to use them to destroy the society.

He, thereafter, ordered that the accused be remanded in the Agodi Prison pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions and adjourned the case till July 30, 2019.

Punch