A 12-year-old girl who suffered internal bleeding after being gang-raped last week by three men in the Ojuwoye area of Mushin, Lagos has had a successful surgery to rectify the bleeding.
According to The Punch, the surgery was bankrolled by the Mirabel Sexual Assault Referral Centre and was performed at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
The girl, who is nicknamed Juliet, is said to be in recovery in the surgical wing of the hospital, although she still has tests to undergo.
Juliet, who has lived with her grandmother since her mothers death one year ago, was raped when her late mother’s friend Mrs. Salawa, an alcohol vendor, helped three of her customers push the girl into her shop where she was raped and given N4,000 which Mrs. Salawa collected.
It was revealed that the girl has not seen her father since she was a baby.
The girl stated that she was also gang-raped in the same area four months prior, adding that a Mr Jimoh, who is an elderly man in the area, also raped her and threatened her with death if she reported.
The Child Protection Network, a consortium of non-governmental organisations, government and stakeholders, which has been handling the girl’s case, said that the first gang-rape might also have been organised by Salawa.
Mr. Ebenezer Omejalile of the CPN, stated, “We equally gathered that the woman administered a concoction to the girl after she was sexually assaulted by the three men. The concoction was identified as one of the causes of the complications suffered by the girl.
“The survivor has been affected psychologically by the experience. We gathered that the woman who set the survivor up has been subjecting the girl to series of sexual violence and exploitations.
One of the suspects has been transferred to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters and is to be charged after the New Year celebration.