A Bayelsa State High Court, Yenagoa Division, has sentenced a 41-year-old man, Baridapsi Needam, to 14 years imprisonment for raping and impregnating his daughter.

The victim gave birth to a baby girl in the pendency of the trial.

The Bayelsa commissioner for justice and attorney-general, Briyal Dambo, in the suit numbered YHC/14C/2022, charged the accused with the offence of rape, contrary to Section 1(1) of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law of Bayelsa State, 2021.

Pere Amanda Egbuson, prosecuting counsel, Bayelsa ministry of justice, told the court that investigations revealed that the accused, Mr Needam, started abusing his daughter when she was seven years old.

Ms Egbuson said Mr Needam defiled the daughter by inserting his fingers into her private part before having carnal knowledge of her in 2020, when she got pregnant.

The presiding judge, Justice D.E. Adokeme, stated while delivering judgement that the prosecution presented credible evidence and made reference to the DNA result, which revealed a 99.99 per cent positive report that the convict is the father of the child.

The court ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Needam committed the offence of rape and subsequently sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment.

Speaking after the judgement, Ms Egbuson, the lead prosecuting counsel, noted that the judgement would serve as a deterrent to others who engage in such unimaginable acts.

She thanked the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo, for his support in ensuring that the DNA analysis was carried out to aid the prosecution.

Reacting to the development, a renowned advocate against violence against women and founder of the Do Foundation, Dise Ogbise-Goddy Harry, commended the court for ensuring justice.

“The state government, through the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Children Affairs and Social Development, and the Bayelsa State Gender Response Initiative Team, have done well by keeping the victim and the baby safe.

“This should sound like a warning to all paedophiles to steer clear of our children,” she said.

The convicted Mr Needam was reported to the police by members of the public.

It would be recalled that Bayelsa State Gender Advocacy Group, Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT), handed Mr Needman to the police after a concerned neighbour discovered that he was responsible for his daughter’s pregnancy in 2022.

(NAN)