Girl, 12, raped in Benin

BENIN- Residents of Ekpenede Street in Benin city yesterday woke up
to find a 12 year old girl who was allegedly raped by unknown man
soaked in the pool of her blood flowing from her virginal.

The girl who gave her name as Osagioduwa could not walk even as a
sympathizer brought a wrapper to cover her.

Speaking softly, the victim said she was raped inside one primary
school by a man who also hit her severally, saying that she pretended
to have fainted to enable the alleged rapist have his way.

Osagioduwa who said her parents were dead said she lived in a church
and was looking for a place to lay her head when the incident
occurred.

"I went out with my cousin and we saw a man. We told him we were
looking for a place to sleep and he told us to go to the police
station but we ran away.

"Another man told us her sister would help us. He took us to his house
and after he took us to one school and I said I wanted to sleep."

"He grabbed me from the back and closed my mouth. He hit me on my neck
and I could not shout. He lay on top of me. I woke up and manage to
run away."

Various groups including the Association of Orphans and Vulnerable
Children and the Child Protection Network were called and they invited
the police who took her to the hospital.

A member of the group, Lucy Bello said investigation showed that the
act was committed at Ogbe Primary School.

Bello said victim was severely injured in her virginal but said
doctors had stitched the wound.

Aged grandmother of the victim who gave her name as Rose called for
the arrest of the alleged rapist.

She said the victim left home on Sunday when they returned from church.

The grandmother who said she was 80 said the victim's father was dead
but that her mother was living in the village.
She said she had searched for the victim and concluded that she might
have gone to see her mother.