Mistura Shogunle, a medical doctor working at the Mirabel Centre, a sexual assault referral centre, on Wednesday, narrated before an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court how a 13-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by seven men in her neighbourhood, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
Shogunle testified at the trial of a 20-year-old fashion designer, Rasheed Fashola, for two counts of conspiracy and defilement of a child.
But Fashola had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Led in evidence by state counsel, Mrs Olasunbo Abiodun-Muniru, the doctor said that the minor came to the centre to seek medical attention on Sept. 28, 2020, a day after she was allegedly defiled.
“The client said that on Sept. 27, 2020 which was a Sunday, her father sent her on an errand, and seven boys in the neighbourhood stopped her.
“They dragged her into an uncompleted building, her mouth was covered with a handkerchief and they took turns to rape her through unprotected penile intercourse into her vagina,” Shogunle said.
The doctor said that the survivor was calm and clinically stable during the medical examination and that she had no obvious physical injuries, according to NAN.
There were, however, significant genital findings. The labia majora was normal while the labia minora (inner lips of the genital) had a bruise.
“The natural covering of the vagina, called the hymen, was absent. There were no significant anal findings.
“The general findings are in keeping with recent blunt force penetration into her vagina which could have been caused by penile vagina penetration as declared verbally by the client,” she said.
The doctor, who is also a certified forensic sexual assault examiner, said the father of the defiled child informed her that he sent his daughter on an errand and expected her to return home early but instead, saw her with two men who came to his residence to tell him that his daughter had been defiled.
According to NAN, Shogunle said that the minor did not tell her the names of the men who allegedly defiled her.
During cross-examination by defence counsel, Mr O.O. Ogunjimi, the witness said that she did not find any semen when she examined the survivor.
“It was not the day the incident happened that the client visited the Mirabel Centre.
“The client did not tell me whether she had taken her bath or not,” Shogunle said.
The prosecution said Fashola, alongside others at large, committed the offence at 8:00 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2020, in an uncompleted building at Oluwashina Junction, Itire, Lagos State, NAN reports.
“The defendant and his accomplices had unlawful sexual intercourse with the 13-year-old in the uncompleted building.
“The offences contravene Sections 137 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015,” Abiodun-Muniru said.
Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the case until May 6 for continuation of trial.
