I did not test my daughter’s virginity, man tells court

A 37-year-old commercial motorcyclist on Thursday told an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court that he did not use fingers to check his daughter’s virginity.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the driver is facing a charge of sexual assault by penetration, contrary to Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant, who testified solely for defence, denied the allegation, saying that the 12-year-old daughter (name withheld) was poorly behaved and kept bad company.
He was led in evidence by defence counsel, Adeyemi Adepite.
“My daughter is following bad friends, my neighbours said all sorts of things about her. I did not believe it until I saw it myself.
“On Novernor 21, 2017, I saw my daughter with some boys while her brother was in the house watching television. When I called her name, the boys ran away and I asked her to tell me who her boyfriend was.
“When I tried to beat her, she tried to fight me like those friends of hers who beat up their parents. That was the reason I beat her that day,” he said.
He denied seeing his daughter’s nakedness.
He added that he beat his daughter once in 2017,   saying that a report stating that she endured numerous physical and sexual assaults from him was false.
While being cross-examined by Inumidun Solarin,  prosecution counsel, the defendant denied attacking his daughter in vengeance because she looked like her mother who allegedly abandoned him.
Athough, he previously denied seeing his daughter nude, the defendant said during cross-examination that her clothes tore when she was fighting with him and he saw her breasts.
Showing the defendant his statement to the police, Solarin requested that he should read  a portion aloud.
The portion of the statement said, “I beat my daughter last two weeks. As she was dragging with me, her dress tore, she was naked and I saw her breasts”.
Reacting to the statement, he said:  “I did not put my fingers in her private part to test her virginity. I did not tear her clothes.
“I do not understand my statement, I was close to fainting when the statement was written.”
Hiwever, the prosecutor said, “I put it to you that you sexually assaulted your daughter by putting your finger in her private part, you tore up her clothes because she refused to tell you her boyfriend.”
Justice Sybil Nwaka adjourned the case to January 23, 2020, for adoption of final written addresses.