The incident has literally left every jaw in the village and environs dropping in disgust. Years back, Audu had been married to Talatu Ayi from Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of the state; the marriage was blessed with a daughter, Justina, before they both went their separate ways due to irreconcilable differences. Audu was therefore left to stay alone with his only daughter, then just a year and seven months old.
Subsequently, he took up the challenge of raising his little baby albeit under a very poor condition, since he was just a peasant farmer and petty trader. He was however able to do this, more, with the assistance of his younger sister, Agnes.
The departure of Audu’s wife 13 years ago under controversial circumstances made him vow not to get married again. However, his younger sister who helped in raising the little girl, died in a tragic accident in January 2019 on her way back from Lafia market, where she had gone to buy some goods for her elder brother.
The good news was that the little Justina had become a grown up girl.
Audu, who is the only son in the family of two, had lost his parents 21 years ago and was left with his sister Agnes, who played the role of a mother in the house, until her demise.
Left alone with his daughter, Audu decided to relocate to a three-bedroom apartment he had managed to build in the village, so his daughter could live comfortably in safety, without any fear.
It is therefore horrifying to see that good intention boomerang, as Justina is now four months gone for her father.
When our correspondent visited the area, following a tip-off from a source in the village, Justina was lounging at the frontage of her father’s house. Before she could say a word, tears flowed down her eyes uncontrollably. “God has inflicted a permanent wound on me; there is absolutely no point keeping me alive. I think I should just commit suicide and die, rather than continue living to bear this shameful burden. God has not been fair to me and I don’t know my sin or offence. My mother left me when I was barely two years old; and up till now, hasn’t taken as much as a second look back. My late aunty Agnes, who brought me up died, recently and now I’m pregnant for my father. What could be worse than that,” she asked bursting into tears.
Wiping away tears, she said, “When my aunty died in an accident, my father moved me into his three bedroom apartment to occupy one of the rooms. He used to check my private part to see if I had started menstruating or having sex with boys. One night, I was sleeping after a hectic day; he came into my room, removed my wrapper and inserted his finger in to my private part, asking if I had started menstruating. I woke up suddenly from sleep and asked, “Daddy why are you doing this to me?”
“He asked if I had had sex before and I said no. He then said he would use his penis to test my virginity. Before I could utter any word, he had climbed on top of me. I wanted to scream, but he held my mouth and penetrated into me. I struggled to wriggle free but he over-powered me and forcefully deflowered me. I bled throughout that night, crying uncontrollably till the following day. I was also in pains throughout.
“I felt very bad but he warned me that nobody must hear of what he did to me. He also threatened to slaughter me with a knife if he heard it from anybody. That was how he kept sleeping with me at night and eventually got me pregnant.”
Continuing her lamentation, she said, “How I wish my mother were around; this shameful thing would not have happened to me. It is incredible; my world and life has crumbled. How can I have a child for my father?” Again, she burst into tears.
She said her woes started way back when her aunty died. From that incident on, she said it was clear to her that her world had come to an end. “The days that followed her death were both utterly full and completely empty; full of activities, yet empty of life because there was nobody to take care of me and guide me properly.
“Her absence gave my father the opportunity to ruin my life. I feel very ashamed that I’m pregnant without getting married and more ashamed that my own biological father is responsible. Now I think about death frequently because my father decided that I should leave the pregnancy and deliver a male child for him.”
She said her father has even threatened to kill her if she tried aborting the pregnancy. “So I don’t have any choice but to allow it grow; meanwhile, the pregnancy is just four months.”
I couldn’t stand another man reaping from where I sowed – father
Following several efforts to get the side of Mr Theddus Audu, The Nation finally caught up with the man in the middle of the controversy in an undercover effort.
Audu said, “She looks beautiful and I always feel the pains that one day, someone else will toast her and start enjoying what I suffered all these years to raise. When her mother left me, I took the pains to bring her up because I could not get married and was alone.
“It started like a joke. I don’t know what came over me; she tried to resist me but I was very harsh on her and she allowed me have my way. Thereafter, we continued unabated. I actually wanted to test her virginity status, to know whether she had started going out with boys but when she told me she missed her period, I decided that she should not abort it. She should deliver the baby for me since I don’t
have any other child. Thereafter, she can get married to anybody of her choice. This was the secret arrangement we had and I don’t know why she is exposing it now.
“That is the much I can say about it,” Audu said with finality.
Mr Abraham Dabu, one of the elders of the community told our correspondent that what has happened is a taboo. He said going by the culture of the people, Audu may be banished from the village. (The Nation)