A Jos High Court has ordered the remand of 39-year-old Peter John, accused of defiling his neighbour’s nine-year-old daughter.
Although the defendant pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge of rape and criminal intimidation, the judge, Justice Nafisa Musa, ordered that he should be remanded at Jos Prison.
He adjourned the case till March 20 for hearing.
The prosecutor, Mr. N.K. Tali, had told the court that the defendant allegedly committed the crime on July 26, 2017, at Furaka village in Jos North Local Government.
“The accused told the police that he lured the girl to a stream and defiled her.
“He said the girl is his neighbour’s daughter, who helped her mother in selling ‘akara.’
“John told the police that the girl was sitting with her grandmother at their business spot when he gave her money to buy him blade.
“The suspect said he followed the girl immediately she left to buy the blade, led her to a nearby stream and had carnal knowledge of her,” he said.
Tali said the accused told the investigators that he saw blood gushing out of the victim’s private parts.
“He threatened to kill her, if she told anyone, after which he returned the girl to her grandmother.
“But luck ran out on him when the grandmother noticed that the child had difficulty in walking, and upon examination, she saw blood in her private parts, which led to the girl exposing the accused,’’ he said.
The prosecutor told the court that a hospital examination confirmed that the girl was defiled.
He said the offences contravened Section 282(1) and punishable under sections 283 and 396 of the Penal Code.