Motor parts dealer and businessman, Christian Edozie, speaks to AJIBADE OMAPE about the circumstances that led to the mental instability of his 16-year-old son after he (son) confessed to being sodomised by a Lagos hotel owner

How did your son confess to being sexually molested by the hotelier?

I went to my village in the South-East during the December period when my son, confessed to my wife that one man called Okpara McDonald molested him. I had to leave my assignment and rush down to Lagos on the 5th of January instead of my initial plan to return on the 15th of the same month.

When I arrived in Lagos, I asked my wife to explain what happened because she initially told me how everything happened, but I needed to hear it face-to-face. She told me that my son confessed to her that one man molested him through his anus, and he threatened that he would die if he talked to anyone. She also said the hotelier claimed to have connections all over the country and the world.

Again, I was told the man threatened that my son would go mad if he confessed. After my son disclosed this to my wife, the man attacked my son, and my son began misbehaving because he confessed. My wife had to run to prayer warriors who prayed before my son became stable.

What happened afterwards?

I made an entry at the Isheri Osun Police Station immediately after I came back from my trip. I went directly to the Divisional Police Officer and made an entry. The DP? then confirmed that such things happen, but he could not confirm it. However, he gave me a paper and asked me to visit Mirabel Medical Centre in Ikeja.

At the medical centre, I was told that there was a penetration through my son?s anus two times, but they did not hand over the report to me because they claimed it was confidential, and that they would send it to the police station that referred me to them.

I immediately went to the DPO, and my wife and son were asked to write statements. At that time, my son was normal. But after writing the statement, within two days, my son went mad and began to misbehave. As of now, I?ve not been sleeping in my house since January because my son is being tormented spiritually.

Did your son show any sign of trauma or unusual behaviour before his confession?

The school I sent my son to is the best, and I?ve spent millions just for his secondary education. His primary education is not included. My son is intelligent and very smart, and in my lineage and my wife?s lineage, there is nothing like madness. He never displayed any unusual behaviour; this whole thing started after my son confessed to his mother.

Was your son working in the hotel owned by this man or how did your son meet him?

No, my son does not work there. He just completed his secondary education. One day, my son?s classmates, about three of them, called him saying that there was an update, but my son said he was not interested. According to my son, one night, these classmates called him again, talking about these updates; my son asked them if it was TikTok or online trading, and they told him, yes; that was when my son went away with his phone and laptop.

On his way, he gathered with the three boys from his class, he took a soft drink because he doesn?t take alcohol. My son said after he took the drink, he became unconscious, and then they took advantage of him, put him in the man?s car and the man drove to his house.

The man had carnal knowledge of my son through his anus. I believe he has been doing it before, but it?s because I am serving a living God, who exposed the man because it?s an abomination where I come from.

When my son came back, he became okay and began to confess to his mother. He did not confess to me directly.

Was it the same day the incident happened that he confessed to your wife?

No. It was after about three weeks or over. My son said it happened to him twice. I don?t know whether he drugged or charmed my son, but my son said the man had done it to many of his friends and they were the ones who called him for online trading and TikTok updates. My son is a 16-year-old boy, and very innocent.

Has your son received medical treatment since that time?

Yes. As of now, my son is still on medical treatment. The police followed us to a psychiatric hospital, where we were told that he was mentally disorganised. They called it trauma.

I have spent a lot, but by the grace of God, my prayer is that he will be healed. My issue now is for the police to make the man undo whatever he did to my son that made him run mad because right now, my son is better but still having mental issues, and the trauma is still disturbing him. I would say the thing goes off and on.

Did the other boys who called your son for the update experience any mental issue?

No, they did not have any mental issue because they did not open up. One of them and my son opened up. He said exactly what my son said, and the police also invited the boy and his mother to Zone 2.

What was your immediate reaction when you heard about your son being molested by a man?

My immediate reaction was to go to the police station and make an entry because I could not do it alone. If it were just between myself and the man, I would have killed him and killed myself, but I can?t take the law into my hands which was why I went to the police station.

After you reported the case to the police, what has been their response?

At first, I reported at Isheri Osun Police Station, but they were not handling the matter the appropriate way initially. I waited for two weeks without any meaningful results from them. I started wondering what was happening and kept visiting the station every day. The next thing I heard was that the lawyer of the accused took the case to Zone 2 in a bid to pervert justice.

They called my wife and asked her to come down to Zone 2 with my son and they told her that she would be told what to write down. I told them to decline. I went ahead and called my brother who decided to accompany me to the place so that we could meet the AIG at Zone 2.

The AIG demanded the case file from Isheri Osun. I saw the culprit in front of the AIG office and pleaded with him to undo what he did to my son so that he (my son) could be okay.

While at Zone 2, I discovered that the man, his lawyer, and the IPO in charge of the case had connived to remove evidence from the case file; the witness statement from the other boy and the video interview he did. It was only my wife?s and son?s statements that were left in the file.

However, in Zone 2, I met truthful people there, who exposed the man for what he did. That was when the accused confessed and told the truth about how it happened. The AIG requested the original file from Isheri Osun and sent his boys down to retrieve it.

Is the suspect still In police custody?

Yes, he and the IPO were immediately arrested for trying to pervert justice and terminate substantial evidence. I do not know if the IPO is still in custody, but I know he was also arrested. I have the confession video that the officers recorded. He cannot deny what he did; he confessed.

He said he was sorry, and that he only did it (sodomised my son) two times and that he used a condom. He was denying it when he was being interviewed but inside the station, he told the truth. At first, he told my son that he had connections and that there was nothing anybody could do to him.

He claimed that If anybody tried to do anything, he would afflict the person with madness or jail the person. He must have spent a lot to bring me and the case down, but I thank God the law is taking its course.

At the police station, the accused knelt in front of me, pleading that he would do anything possible to make sure my son was okay; he also promised to fly my son to any part of the country. He was talking like someone proud of what he did.

After his arrest, have you gone to court?

No. I have not gone to court, but I think we will because it was just recently that he was interviewed. We will still go to court, and he will go to jail.

How has this incident affected your family emotionally and financially?

This case has affected me a lot financially. I have not opened my shop since the 5th of January till now, and I know how much I make a day, but I?ve not opened my shop. My wife too; I know how much she makes every day. But we left everything; my wife also left the office.

From the 5th of January till today, we have not handled any business, and we have been eating, transporting, and doing a lot. I have spent millions on this case moving from office to office, gathering information, and all other things that are needed.

If I ask this man to refund all I have spent, he cannot. He must pay me because I know what I have lost and the damage I have incurred pursuing justice for this case. I have even borrowed money to pursue this case. The culprit must pay damages and rot in jail; that is what I want.

Do you believe there were other victims, and have any other families come forward with similar accusations?

Yes, there was another witness who came to the station to grant an interview, and he said the same thing my son said. The man has condemned many souls with this act of his.

What do you want the government to do about this issue?

I want the government to make sure they handle this issue very well and ensure the suspect is punished for his offence. He must pay me because the damage is too much.

What message do you have for parents, the authorities, and society regarding child sexual abuse and its lasting effects?

I advise parents to be close to their children. My son fell victim because I did not take him to my office to do some work. I wanted to have him under my care at my office so that when it was time for his UTME lesson, I could register him immediately.

But my wife told me to let him go to a small school and teach for a couple of months so that his brain would continue being engaged before it was time for UTME lesson. That was when I bought my wife?s idea. If not, if my son was under my care in my office, I don?t think this would have happened to him.

But because he had space after teaching, he had time to visit his classmates after teaching children. I only agreed to allow him to teach because it would continue to exercise his memory before the exam time, not because of the money they were paying him.

We should always guide our children and offer advice in situations like this. Since birth, I have never encountered anything like this. But this thing made me know that many things can happen. So, I advise everybody to be very careful with their children and be closer to them so that they (parents) can protect them from being victims of any crime. (Saturday PUNCH)

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