Ruth David
Ruth David During the Interview
This story was told to me by a crying mother and victim of rape. It is not hearsay; Ruth David a student of the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa state who will be 29 next month gave me a first hand story of her experience with a man who raped her when she was only 17 years old. She got pregnant from the rape and gave birth to a baby girl. About 12 or 13 years later, the same child was being raped and abused by her so-called biological father. Be warned then obscene mental images can arise from reading this very emotional story. Also, we have this document on audio back and has been transcribed without changes except for a few grammatical corrections where very necessary. Note that Ruth cried all through most of the moment during this interview session in my office.

Peter –Tell me you Name
Ruth –I am Ruth David
Peter – how old are you?
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)……………….

Ruth David
Ruth David

 
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