metro
I’m a rapist, admits husband who drugged, abused wife for 10 years
I’m a rapist, admits husband who drugged, abused wife for 10 years
Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife to sleep and recruiting dozens of men to abuse her for over 10 years, has admitted to all the charges against him in his first testimony since the trial opened on 2 September.
Referring to the 50 co-defendants who are accused of raping his now ex-wife Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said: “I am a rapist like the others in this room.”
“They all knew, they cannot say the contrary,” he said. Only 15 of the 50 defendants admit rape, with most saying they only took part in sexual acts.
Of his ex-wife, Mr Pelicot said: “She did not deserve this.”
“I was very happy with her,” he told the court.
Gisèle, who was given the chance to respond shortly after, said: “It is difficult for me to listen to this. For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would’ve never imagined could be capable of this. I trusted him completely.”
Although no cameras are allowed in court, the trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity at the beginning of the proceedings. Her legal team said opening up the trial would shift the “shame” back on to the accused.
As she stepped out of the courtroom during a pause in the hearing on Tuesday, Gisèle was met by applause from onlookers, and she smiled as she accepted a bouquet of flowers.
Since the trial began, Gisèle has become a symbol of resilience and courage.
Last weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across France to show their support to her and other victims of rape, and the trial has ignited a national conversation on marital rape, consent and chemical submission.
Mr Pelicot, who is a father and grandfather, began his testimony by telling the court of traumatic childhood experiences and said he was abused by a male nurse when he was nine years old.
When asked about his marriage to Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said he considered suicide when he found out she was having an affair.
Throughout his testimony on Tuesday morning, Mr Pelicot repeatedly assured the court that he never “hated” his wife and was in fact “crazy about [her]… I loved her immensely and I still do.”
“I loved her well for 40 years and badly for 10,” he added, apparently referring to the decade during which he drugged her and abused her.
Mr Pelicot was then questioned by Stéphane Babonneau, one of Gisèle’s lawyers, who asked him why he had been unable to find the will to stop abusing her, even when she started presenting medical problems.
metro
Man remanded for allegedly defiling stepdaughter in Benue
Man remanded for allegedly defiling stepdaughter in Benue
A Makurdi Magistrates Court, on Wednesday, ordered the remand of one Adera Sunday, 40, accused of defiling of his 16-year-old stepdaughter.
The Magistrate, Mrs Sonia Ayange, did not take the plea of the defendant, a resident of Welfare Quarters, Makurdi, for want of jurisdiction.
Ayange thereafter ordered that the defendant should be remanded at the Makurdi Correctional Centre pending further investigation.
She adjourned the case to Oct. 11 for further mention.
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Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Insp James Ewache told the court that the teenager reported the case at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Makurdi on Aug. 30.
The prosecutor said that the complainant informed the police that her stepfather had been taking sexual advantage of her since she was 13 years of age without her consent.
“He lures her into taking noxious drugs and while under the influence, forcefully takes advantage of her,” the prosecutor said.
Ewache said that investigation into the matter was still ongoing and prayed the court for another date for mention.
He said that the offence contravened Sections 284 of the Penal Code, Laws of Benue State, 2004.
Man remanded for allegedly defiling stepdaughter in Benue
metro
FG worries over Abuja tremor, says it’s monitoring situation
FG worries over Abuja tremor, says it’s monitoring situation
The federal government has said it is monitoring and analysing earth movement in and around Abuja to forestall any further earth tremor in the federal capital territory.
The Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Uche Nnaji, who disclosed this at an emergency press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, said the government would soon implement measures to mitigate the seismic risks.
Over the past week, a series of earth tremors have been reported in some parts of the Maitama, Katampe, and Mpape areas, causing concern among residents.
Tremors are small, mild shaking or vibrations of the ground, often caused by minor movements in the earth’s crust.
It could be recalled that Mpape experienced a similar sequence of earth tremors from September 5 to 7, 2018, which drew significant local and international attention to Nigeria’s increasing seismic activity.
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The recent tremors were accompanied by loud noises and ground shaking, causing widespread alarm among residents.
The minister said “The government is currently processing and analysing comprehensive datasets from its Seismological and GNSS stations to provide relevant recommendations to the FCT Administration.
“We urge the residents of Mpape, and by extension the wider Abuja area, to remain calm and continue their normal activities,” Nnaji said.
Also, the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) has urged residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to remain calm.
NGSA Director General, Prof. Olusegun Ige, made the call in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
He urged the residents of the affected areas and other parts where the tremors were felt not to panic, as the tremors were generally minor and did not pose any threat to the environment.
He said the agency was closely monitoring the situation across Nigeria and would provide updates as required.
The NGSA boss stated that a team from the agency had visited the affected areas for an on-the-spot assessment of the various incidents.
FG worries over Abuja tremor, says it’s monitoring situation
(NAN)
metro
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
The Osun State Police Command has said that it has arrested seven suspects for possession of human body parts.
The police made this revelation to journalists while parading the suspects at the Command headquarters in Osogbo on Wednesday.
The suspects paraded include Johnson Daniel, Adetunji Okunade, Olaniyan Azeez, Balogun Temitope Asimiyu, Oladapo Hammed, Kazeem Rasak and Asaka Rauf.
Addressing journalists, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Giwa-Alade Emmanuel also said suspected human bone fragments, a female pant and note books were recovered as exhibits from the suspects at the point of arrest.
He said, “The above named suspects were arrested upon a credible information from a good spirited individual that, one Johnson Daniel ‘m’ a mortuary attendant at lpetu-ljesa sells portions of human remains deposited at the mortuary to native doctors whose names are listed above.
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“The said suspects use these remains gotten from the mortuary attendant (Johnson Daniel) for different ritual purposes. Daniel also confessed that, he conspired with one other mortuary attendant named Adetunji Okunade ‘m’ to sell remnant of water used in bathing corpses to interested native doctors.
“In the course of investigation, search were conducted at the residences of these suspects which led to the recovery of fragment of substances suspected to be human skull at Asaka Rauf ‘m’ and Oladapo Hammed ‘m’ residences while a female pant and a note book containing instructions on ritual practices were recovered from Balogun Temitope Asimiyu’s residence.”
Giwa-Alade hinted that the suspects have been charged to court.
Similarly, the police paraded Taiwo Adekunle, Adebayo Opeyemi, Hasan Ibrahim, Oba Wasiu and Olajide Oladapo for alleged armed robbery.
Exhibits recovered at the point of arrest include a Ford Jeep with registration number SMK945OS, Hunter motorcycle with registration number WWD604QF, one empty shell cartridge, one Iphone and one magnet.
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
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