By Ushang Ewa
A former local government chairman of Calabar Municipal and Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on Biodiversity, Mr. Edet Okon Asim, is currently in police custody for continuously defiling an underaged girl (names withheld) for a period spanning about three years.
The girl is said to have been coerced into aborting two pregnancies for Mr. Asim with consent from her mother and has damaged her uterus while carrying out a third abortion earlier this year before the matter became public.
Her mother, Mrs. Stella (other name withheld) whom CrossRiverWatch gathered is Mr. Asim’s mistress and had consented to the relationship between him and her daughter has also been arrested.
Now, sources aware of the happenings told CrossRiverWatch that Mrs. Stella was married to a popular Calabar based pastor who was a good friend of Asim and bore two children for the deceased clergyman.
The first, a girl is the victim while the second is a boy.
The pastor later died and since then, Ms. Stella has been seeing Mr. Asim and kept calling him, her “Destiny Saver.”
The relationship has been going on for years and when her daughter began developing feminine features, Asim is said to have taken interest and she often visited the former council boss for holidays and in the company of her mother where they most times, stay for lengthy number of days.
The victim’s mother is said to be a caterer. Sources also say she maintains apartments in Uyo, and Calabar where the victim stays and attend the Federal Government Girls College, Calabar. The victims’ mother is said to have kept warning her against opening up and collaborated with the suspect in the serial abuse.
The victim got pregnant twice and aborted with the help of her mother and Mr. Asim who always bore the financial brunt.
And after the third abortion which is said to have been carried out by a quack, her womb became perforated.
Her teacher is said to have found out and shared the story on a WhatsApp page where rights activist and the founder of Project Alert, a non-governmental organization NGO, which specializes in handling such cases, Mrs. Josephine Chukwuma, is a subscriber.
Chukwuma is said to have swung into action and contacted the Basic Rights Council Initiative founded by child rights activist, Barrister James Ibor which also informed the police that led to the arrest of Mr. Asim and Ms. Stella.
The duo, security sources say, will be moved on Thursday morning from the Airport division of the Nigeria Police Force to the State Command at Diamond Hill, all in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Also, CrossRiverWatch gathered that the duo have been pleading and making calls to ensure that the matter is swept under the rug due to the fact that Mr. Asim is a politically exposed person.
The Cross River state Police Spokesperson, ASP Irene Ugbo, told CrossRiverWatch that the state command headquaters will take custody of the suspects this morning (friday) and continue with investigation. She promised that the police will brief the public as investigation proceeds.
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