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| Ruth David During the Interview |
Peter –Tell me you Name
Ruth –I am Ruth David
Ruth – I’m 29years old
Peter – what do you do?
Ruth – I’m a student
Peter – where do you school?
Ruth – Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa
Peter – What level are you?
Ruth – I’m in ND2
Peter – What are you studying?
Ruth – Business Administration
Peter – So tell me exactly what the problem is?
Ruth – Actually 1998 to 1999 I came to look for my mum in
Abuja so when I came my mum was staying in an uncompleted building when I came
to meet her in Abuja here so there is this guy that my elder brother brought in
to come and live with us, the guy was living with us and my mum use to cook
food, she use to give food to him and my elder brother. They use to eat
together so on this faithful day I went to give him food, when I went to their
room to give them food my elder brother was not around I met only him so I gave
him the food after giving him food he now asked me to wait and at the process
of waiting he now pushed me to the bed and tore my cloth held me and raped me.
That was my first experience.
So when he raped me I told my mum what happened the guy
denied it that he can never do such a thing to me so when he denied it my mum
now Said I’m lying against the guy, so 2months, 3months I could not see my
period anymore I did not know I was pregnant so when I eventually knew I was
pregnant around the fifth month my mum now sent me away. When my mum sent me
away I went and met the guy that this telling him, what you did to me that time
now I’m pregnant he now denied it. When he denied the pregnancy what he did, he
now took me to one place and drew a circle with two eggs and said that if I
open my mouth and tell anybody that he is responsible for this pregnancy that
this two eggs will break and my tummy will break and I will die. Because of the
fear now I don’t want to die I could not tell anybody the story so I was all
alone suffering. I suffered nobody to help me I started sleeping outside,
outside one uncompleted building up to like nine months. When I was due for
delivery I was taken to the hospital before we got to the hospital I gave birth
in the car. They took me to the hospital, they cleaned me up then discharged me
and I came home.
When I came home, after 2months of not seeing the child, the
guy came and was begging my mum that we should forgive him that his the one
responsible for the pregnancy my mum now said ok that she cannot kill him since
he has agreed that his the one responsible that he should take responsibility
of the child he now agreed that he is going to take responsibility but he was
not doing anything he was not taking responsibility he just promised before I
knew the guy ran away I was all alone just suffering with the child I go to
wash plates before I could feed my child. I nursed the child up to two years
and four months when the mum came from the village that she doesn’t like the
way her grand child is suffering that she wants to carry the child. My mum
agreed that I should release the child for them I now released the child for
them so when I released the child I went back to secondary school cause then I
was still in secondary school so the child was with them the mum now took the
child to the village every time I gather my money I travel to go and see the
child I buy things and go and see her so not until 2008 he got married the
child was still with his mum he now went to the village to go and pick the
child and he didn’t tell me he was going to pick the child so when he picked
her he took her to his wife and she became housemaid to his wife. She’s the one
that does every job in the house I didn’t know my child was there about a year.
One day I now met the brother I said I was trying to go to the village to go
and see my child cause I’ve not gone there for one year now he now said didn’t
the father tell you? Your child is here in Abuja oo didn’t the father tell you?
I said he didn’t tell me. He now said your child has been here since one year I
now said ok o but I don’t know his house can you direct me to his house? His
brother now directed me to his house. I now went there when I went there it was
true, I saw my child, she saw me, she was happy that she saw me and we were
together then she was about 10 years she was staying with them when I went there
I saw that she was staying with the father I wanted to carry her but he didn’t
allow me he said no! he is not going to allow me to carry the child the child
was with them so I did not bother since she’s with the father I use to go there
every weekend to go and visit her every Sunday then my father now got sick I
have to travel to the village to go and take care of my father so I travelled.
For eight months I did not see my child then she was 11years getting to 12years
so I didn’t go to see her for like 8months so the 8th month I went there to the
old house where they were living they’ve moved from the old house to a new
house so I have to look for the new house so when I looked for the new house I
saw them so when I saw them I saw my child, she was happy to see me but she was
angry that I did not come to see her for 8months I had to explain to her that
is her grandfather that was sick that I travelled home to take care of him but
I lost him she now said ok.
When I got there my child was washing clothes. They heaped
clothes for her to wash that her step mother say after she wash the cloth she
would be the one to cook and wash the plates, when I got there the heap of
clothes was too much for that little girl to wash I now started washing the
cloth with her I said I will wash this clothes with you today no problem so as
I was washing the clothes that’s the step mother’s clothes, I was washing it
with her when we were washing she said mummy there’s something I want to tell
you I said what is that? Say it? What
I’m about telling you even if I tell you and I die no problem I now said ah!
What are you telling me that you will die? You will not die! that she has told
her classmates and that her classmates said that she shouldn’t tell anybody
except her mum, I now said ok she should tell me and then she now took me to
their bed room and said that since she was 11years her father use to sleep with
her I now said u’re lying why are you lying now is it because you want me to
carry you? that’s why you’re lying just because I did not come for 8months
that’s why you’re lying but I’ve explained the situation I was, she did not
allow me to finish she said no that she has told one of her friend that her
name is Aisha in the class that she has already reported the issue to her and
Aisha said that she should tell only me that if she tells only me she’ll not
die because her dad said any day she opens her mouth and tell anybody that he
sleeps with her that he would kill and her she’ll die. I now said ok I did not
believe! She now lie down, she said that the father even slept with her that
Friday before I came, that if she’s lying let her lie down let me check her,
that all her body is paining her. In the bedroom there, I now lay her down, I
wanted to touch her, she was crying, she didn’t allow me to touch her. I now
said ok. What we would do now take my….I can’t carry you now cause your step
mother is at home now so take my phone number anytime your father tries such
thing with you call me tell me so when I left the place the third day, she now
called me that she has ran away from the house oo that she walked from jukowyi
to Nyanya that she’s not staying with her father again that she has ran away
that her father threatened to kill her that if he comes back his going to kill
her. There’s an uncompleted building he use to take her to go and make love to
her that if she doesn’t follow him to the place if he comes his going to kill
her, she cannot continue with the father like that and that she has ran away
from the house that I should come and pick her. I now entered vehicle and went
and met her, carried her. The period I
met her, she could not walk. Her leg was scattered I didn’t know what to do at
that period. The next thing is to take her to the hospital. The first hospital
we took her to was the General hospital. They examined her, she was
smelling, they gave me some drugs they
said I should go on Anti-biotic I started giving her Anti-Biotic from there she
started seeing some blood like that from there some doctors checked on her that
her womb is not in the right position because she’s too small. They checked
her. Since then I’ve been treating her
of recent. We’ve not even finished treating her. She’s still even supposed to
be on drugs. She’s discharging some black blood from her and like that she’s
not still normal in this case I didn’t have anybody that would me cause my
family was not doing anything to assist me, nobody was helping me so I didn’t
have anywhere to go to.
We went to police station FCT police station the one in
Garki at first they arrested him (the father) in jukwoyi police station when
they arrested him he told them that I’m lying he bailed himself they allowed
him to go free I now took him to FCT police station and he denied it he now
went and recorded one voice that it was me that I was demanding for 1million
from him. He records the voice they now said that he should bring the voice.
Before I could go there he wrote a petition against me that I want to eat his
money and I’m lying against him I’m using my child to lie against him so when
the CO that is in charge of the case now came the woman now called me that is
it true I said NO she asked me again I said is not true she now said how would
they believe this thing, he was denying it that he didn’t do it so when they
now called me they said I should bring my child I now brought her they now sent
me away outsides when I went outside they now asked her that is it true that
your father has been sleeping with you she now said yes they now believed her
but I don’t want they did at last then the police people started blaming me
that I’m not ashamed that how would I bring this kind of issue to police
station they started insulting me that is it because he didn’t marry me that
I’m lying against him.
Peter – What’s the name of the father?
Ruth – His name is Yayah
Peter – What’s his full Name?
Ruth – Yahaya yakubu
Peter – What does he do?
Ruth – I don’t know what he does oo
Peter – What about your mum and family?
Ruth – My mum is here, now my child is with my mum
Peter – So you’ve tried the police and nothing has been
done?
Ruth – Yes
Peter – How old were you when it happened?
Ruth - I was 17years
Peter – You were 17years?
Ruth –Yes
Peter – And how old are you now?
Ruth – I’m 29 years old
Peter – So 13years or so later he raped your daughter?
Ruth – Yes
Peter – Ok! So what do you want people to know now?
Ruth – I want people to know that I was raped while I was
young and the result of it was pregnancy and in the pregnancy I gave birth and
he was still raping the child again.
Peter – And you want justice?
Ruth – Yes
Peter – Ok
Ruth – (crying)……………….
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| Ruth David |
