Aid worker urges Nigeria to reopen alleged defilement case involving four-year-old girl

An aid worker, Ugama Steve, is urging Nigerian authorities to intervene on behalf of a four-year-old girl who is suffering complications after an alleged sexual assault by a catechist at a Catholic cathedral. Steve said the incident occurred last year, when the child was three years old. The girl is now experiencing an infection that causes her to emit an odor. Steve said that after the catechist was arrested, the child's parents were pressured to abandon the case. The father, who had been living at the cathedral with his wife, reportedly dropped the matter, left his wife and daughter, and remarried; he continues to live at the cathedral with his new wife, Steve said. Steve wrote that the previous Thursday, the public relations officer of AEFUTHA contacted him about the case. The child had been returned to the hospital by her mother because a foul-smelling discharge was coming from her vagina, he wrote. He said the alleged act was committed by the catechist at St. Theresa Cathedral Abakaliki, where the family lived at the time. Steve said he met the doctor handling the case, who confirmed that the girl had been defiled when she was first taken to the hospital last year. He said the child is still affected by what happened, which accounts for the odor. According to the mother, the catechist was arrested at the time and later released on bail, Steve added. Steve said he contacted the IPO who handled the matter; she told him the case had been concluded and sent to the DPP's office for legal advice. He also called the girl's father, who said he was not interested in pursuing the matter. The case had caused problems between them, the father said, and he had since married another woman and was still living with her at the cathedral, where he remains a driver. The mother and daughter were forced out of the cathedral, according to the mother. Steve said he reached the cathedral administrator, who said the woman could not prove that the catechist had defiled her daughter. The administrator said the mother was responsible and alleged that she was troublesome and behaved as though she were mentally unstable. The woman said she and her husband were placed under intense pressure to drop the case, with claims that she was fighting the church. Her husband eventually agreed to drop it, while she refused, Steve said. The doctor said the girl needed to be repaired, Steve wrote, adding that he did not know what that meant. She is currently taking antibiotics. Steve said he told the IPO he wants the case reopened for further investigation. He was unable to reach the catechist. The girl's father's younger brother, referred to as xyz, called Steve and told him to stay out of the matter. Steve asked people to share the account until the suspect is arrested again.