A 35-year-old man, Onyebuchi Ezema, was yesterday arraigned before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja High Court for allegedly raping his four-y
A 35-year-old man, Onyebuchi Ezema, was yesterday arraigned before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja High Court for allegedly raping his four-year-old daughter at his residence in Lugbe, a suburb of Abuja.
In the one-count charge, the defendant, Onyebuchi Ezema, is accused of raping his daughter between the 15th and 16th of April 2020 at Lugbe. The alleged offence is punishable under Section 1 (1) of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act of 2015. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Ruling on the bail application filed by the defendant’s counsel, Justice Angela Otaluka granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1 million and two sureties in like sum. The defendant is to be remanded in Kuje correctional facility pending the perfection of bail conditions.
Last week Tuesday, he was brought to court but his planned arraignment was scuttled due to lack of language interpreters. The defendant had stunned the court when he announced that he understands and speaks Igbo language only while all efforts to get a neutral interpreter were unsuccessful.
Justice Otaluka, who was confronted with the challenge of securing an interpreter, was forced to put off the arraignment until yesterday, ordering the registrar of the court to get a neutral interpreter before the adjourned date.
