The victim in the alleged rape trial of chief
Richard Kpodo, a former Security Adviser to Ex-Governor Timipre Sylva of
Bayelsa on Friday testified before a Bayelsa High Court.
The 26 year old (name withheld) testified alongside
her Uncle and a medical doctor who examined her on June 9 after she was
allegedly raped the previous day.
It would be recalled that Kpodo, was on July 31,
2018 arranged for alleged rape at State High Court 7 in Yenagoa.
Kpodo was charged on two counts of unlawful
detention and rape of the victim, a 26 year old female cashier at the hotel run
by the accused.
At the resumed trial of the rape case, the trial
judge, Justice E Eradiri listened to the testimony of a medical practitioner
who examined the victim after she was allegedly raped.
Dr Ikenna Nwanna, a medical practitioner from the
Diete Koko Memorial Hospital, Opolo, Yenagoa told the court that the patient
complained of pains in her pubic are and walked with difficulty when she came
to the clinic on June 9, 2018.
“The patient complained that she was raped by her
boss and I examined her in the presence of a female nurse and there were
bruises in her vulva and due to the pains she did not allow me to touch her
vaginal area.
“There were also whitish discharge which I suspect
to be semen although did not conduct any further tests , the observations
tallies with the complain of violence sexual assault” Nwanna said.
In her testimony to the court, the victim said that
she was invited by the accused to his office in the hotel at about 8 pm where
he locked the doors and forcefully overpowered her and raped her.
The victim who narrated her experience before the
curt broke into tears and subsequently compelled the judge to suspend the
hearing twice to enable the victim regain composure.
She sad that the accused had been making indecent
sexual approaches before the incident occurred.
“I was employed as a cashier and whenever I go to
submit cash to him he touches me annnd I reported it to the employment agency
that helped me get the job, and they advised me to talk to him to stop it.
“I talked to him that it is a si, he stopped for
some time and he started again, that day he locked up the door and forcefully
had sex, I shouted and also pleaded and he said he would not leave me until he
was satisfied.
“So when he finished, he asked me to clean myself
and bring his food,” the victim said.
The defence counsel in the rape trial Julius
Iyekoroghe cross examined the three witnesses.
The prosecuting counsel Mr Samuel Arthur sought an
adjournment to enable him call two more witnesses to testify in the case.
The defence counsel who alleged that he was being
intimidated by the prosecuting counsel informed the court that the prosecution
had denied his counsel access to medical care against to order of the court.
Reacting to the allegation, the judge, Justice E.
Eradiri directed that his earlier order granting acess to medical care to the
accused be complied with.
“There is a subsisting order on granting the
accused acess to medical services at a government hospital, my order must be
complied with and I want the prosecution to ensure that the orders of this
court are obeyed,” Eradiri .
He adjourned the case to October 5, 201 to listen
to the two additional witnesses called by the prosecution.
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