Ogun returns rape victims to orphanage

Two teenage girls (names withheld), who were allegedly sexually abused by the director of Light of Hope Orphanage Akute, Ogun State, Mr. Olatayo Atunde, have been returned� to the orphanage.

The state government, two weeks ago took custody of the girls from Project Alert, a nongovernmental organisation on violence against women.

The government, which waded into the issue after police detectives from the Zone 2 command arrested Atunde, said it was for the safety of the girls.

The government had also claimed in a press statement to THE PUNCH on April 17 that the orphanage was not properly registered.

The statement said, "The orphanage is still undergoing the registration process with the state's Ministry of Women Affairs."

When PUNCH Metro visited the orphanage on Monday, activities were in full swing. Employees went about their duties while the voices of children chanting nursery rhymes could be heard from one of the buildings in the vast compound.

One of the victims, aged 13, emerged from an outbuilding in the compound and politely greeted our correspondent as she walked past.

Both girls were supposed to be witnesses in Atunde's prosecution. They were absent last Friday at the Ota Magistrate's Court when he (Atunde) was arraigned on four counts. Atunde was denied bail and is being remanded at the Ibarra prison, Ogun state.

But his wife told our correspondent on Monday that she did not know why the girls were returned to the orphanage.

She said, "It was the state government that brought the girls here last week. We were not told the reason for the change of heart."

Executive Director of Project Alert, Mrs. Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, expressed disappointment at the development.

She said, "I am not aware that the girls have been returned to the orphanage. When we were invited by the state government two weeks ago, we met with the Commissioner for Women Affairs, the Attorney General of the state and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Millennium Development Goals.

"They promised me that they would keep the girls safe. I heard both girls were being accommodated at the Stella Obasanjo Children Home at Abeokuta. When the issue of how one of the girls could finish up her junior WAEC came up, I offered to take them back because the exam is already at hand and their school is at Akute. The government told me that they would consider the option."

Effuah-Chuwkwuma said the development was a waste of efforts by her NGO and the police to get the girls and others like them who still live at the orphanage, justice.

She said, "This is not a good sign. This case is in court; they should not have been taken back to the scene where they were raped."

Officials of the private secondary school where the victims are students told PUNCH Metro that the girls had yet to resume classes.

One of the teachers in the school said, "We had hoped they would be allowed to at least finish the session with us because one of them is due to write her Junior WAEC but we have not seen them since we resumed."

There was no response from the Ogun State Commissioner of Women Affairs, Mrs. Elizabeth Sonubi. She did not reply the calls or text messages to her phone.