Finally, Godswill Tom Remanded For Sleeping With Daughter, 15

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

There was a twist over the arraignment of a 47-year old man, Godswill Alfred Tom, who was arrested for allegedly sleeping with his two biological daughters aged 16 and 11, for the past two years as he was docked before the Ogba Magistrates Court on Wednesday in Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the suspect, Godswill, was charged by the Police operatives from the Gender Section of the Command on two count charge of defiling the 16-year old daughter and withdrew the second charge on his 11-year old daughter, who had already made confessional statement to the Police that he defiled her too.

The Police were yet to explain why they withdrew the charge after the victim confessed and had been taken to rehabilitation centre for the trauma over the dastardly act.

The incident happened at Juliana Lawson Street, Alagbado area of Lagos, where they reside. He had been brought to Court severally but the Police were unable to charge him and he was taken back to custody.

According to the Police, the  suspect, Godswill Tom, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, started molesting the victims since 2019 when they were 14 and 9 respectively and continued till this year when the victims summoned courage and told their neighbours what they were going through for those years.

The defendant was charged for defilement, which attracts life imprisonment if he is tried and found guilty.

However, his plea was not taken after the prosecutor, Supol Kehinde Ajayi, asked the Court to refer the matter to the DPP for advice because of the seriousness of the offence.

Thus, the Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. A. O. Ajibade, ordered his remand in the Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town in Lagos and directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send it to the DPP for advice.

The matter was adjourned till 17th March, 2021, for the report of the DPP’s advice to be ready, as it will determine if the matter will be transferred to the High Court or not over jurisdiction.

The victims had kept the whole thing away from their mother, who usually goes out early in the morning for her business and comes back late in the evening after their father had seriously warned them not to tell anyone what he was doing to them.
The victims, who were traumatized by constant molestation by their father, lost confidence and could not tell anyone because of the threat by their father.
However, when the pressure of continuous demand for sex became unbearable for the elder daughter, she opened up to their neighbours and the younger daughter also revealed that she was defiled too by her father. Hence his arrest for prosecution.