Court remands man for defiling four daughters 

A Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has remanded a 41-year-old man, Michael Isaiah, for allegedly defiling his four biological daughters. Isaiah was arraigned in court yesterday on a three-count charge, and the case is being prosecuted by Inspector Onyishi Joshua.

The names of the four victims were not announced but the court noted that they were aged between two and 17 years. The accused allegedly committed the crime in April and May 2018 at his residence in Borokiri Sand-field area of Port Harcourt. He admitted to the crime, stating that he did not know what came over him at each occasion.

The Chief Magistrate, Zinnah Alikor, described Isaiah’s act as an abomination, wickedness and demonic. She said the offence is punishable under Sections 358 and 218 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Volume 11, Laws of Rivers State, 1999.

Alikor said: “This is an abomination. It is a curse. Children you nurtured? This is wickedness. Your action is demonic”. She said that the offence committed attracts life imprisonment on conviction, and declined jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

She told the police to deposit the original case file within seven days to be remitted to the Chief Registrar, for onward transmission to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), for legal advice.

Alikor further stated that the accused person has right to apply for his bail from the High Court, and adjourned the case sine dine, pending the outcome of DPP’s advice.

The Chief Magistrate told the Federation of International Female Lawyers (FIDA), who held brief for complainant’s counsel, that the victims required counseling for the trauma and psychological experiences they had gone through. FIDA counsel, Fortune Ndah, told the court that the accused person perpetuates the act after severe manhandling of the victims.