A 51-year-old man, Sunday Ojo, has allegedly raped his 13-year-old stepdaughter at the White House, Effurun, in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

It was learnt that Ojo ran away from home after he allegedly beat his stepdaughter and drowned her in a bucket of water on October 16, 2019.

Southern City News gathered that the teenager became unconscious after been raped and had blood stains all over her body before her mother could come to her aid.

The girl was said to have been rushed to a general hospital in Warri, where she was given first aid treatment before she was referred to another medical facility in the area.

It was gathered that the teenager later regained consciousness after seven days.

Narrating the incident, the victim’s mother, Mrs Edirin Matthew, said, “l left the house that night because of a misunderstanding I had with my husband, Ojo.

“l left the house to avoid the violent man, who had at one point stabbed me on my left elbow. I returned the next morning, but I could not gain entry to the house until I called my brother and we broke the door.

“I observed that everywhere was silent and met my daughter naked and lifeless with blood all over her body as well as a wet bed and a bucket of water that was used by my husband to drown my daughter.

“It is true that the stepfather raped and drowned my daughter. I rushed my daughter to the General Hospital, Warri, but she was referred to the Lily Hospital.

“My little child of four years, who was also in the house, narrated how Ojo suffocated her stepsister after beating her up.

“Ojo has been on the run since the incident occurred. His brother was arrested, but the police released him. I got him arrested again because he was communicating with his brother on the telephone, but he has been released.”

The victim, who is in a relatively stable condition, has accumulated a bill of N1.8m in the hospital.

“Please, I want the public to help me financially so that I can take my child home. We are here because we can’t offset the bill,” Edirin pleaded.

A human rights activist, Israel Joh, who has been fighting against rape, cultism and other related crimes in the society, said, “We are calling on the DPO, Ekpan Division, to intensify efforts at arresting the perpetrator and through a court order, declare Sunday Ojo wanted.”