Adamu Umaru, 48, was on Thursday paraded by the Zone 6 Police Command in Cross River over an allegation of raping and impregnating his 15-year-old daughter.
The Zone 6 police spokesperson, Nelson Okpabi, told journalists that the suspect was arrested on Friday, 15 November, based on a petition by one Aisha, the victim’s aunt.
“The personnel of the Zonal Human Rights Unit acting on a petition referred to the team for investigation, on the 15th November, apprehended Mallam Adamu Ibrahim Umaru.
“The suspect is a native of Bundugudu LGA of Zamfara State, residing at No. 27 Edem Odo Street, Calabar who unlawfully defiled his daughter,” he stated.
The police spokesperson said that the petitioner had stated that she noticed changes in the girl’s physiology and took her to the hospital where a test that was conducted confirmed her to be nine weeks pregnant.
The police said that the victim, in her statement, alleged that her father was responsible for her pregnancy.
She added that her father started having illicit affairs with her in 2023 in a hotel located in Calabar and had threatened to kill her should she reveal this to anybody.
“She was further examined by a medical doctor in the Police hospital, Calabar and the result validated the earlier report submitted by her aunt.
“The manager of the hotel in his statement also admitted that he had seen the suspect severally with the victim in the hotel booking temporary accommodation, but never knew she was his daughter,” the spokesperson said.
While speaking with journalists, the suspect denied the allegation and appealed for his release to attend to another urgent matter in an Abuja court.
“I am due to appear tomorrow in a court at Federal High Court in Abuja over murder charges and I did not even commit what I’m being alleged of against my daughter,” he appealed.
According to the police, the suspect denied the allegation on interrogation and noted that he could not explain how his daughter got pregnant under his watch, having separated from her biological mother years back.
The police said that the suspect would be arraigned in court at the end of the investigation in accordance with extant laws if found culpable. /Agency, PT report