About two years after my parents’ separation, when I was still in JSS3, my father forced me to take an alcoholic drink. I found it strange that he would encourage me to drink alcohol when I was not yet old enough, but I had to force myself to finish the drink because my father was standing over me and threatening a hailstorm. Everything else became a blur whenever I took the drink, and the only thing I noticed in the morning as I went to have my bath was that there was a thick whitish substance on my underwear. This occurrence became frequent, especially during the weekends; though I tried to recall what happened on such nights, I never remembered a thing. This continued for about 2 years. I thought about confronting my dad several times to find out what was going on but was paralyzed by fear because I knew the kind of violence that would result from questioning him. I decided to concentrate on passing my forthcoming WAEC exams instead so that I could gain admission to the university, and finally leave his house to live with my mom.

My father’s work required that he would be on night shifts sometimes, and these were the opportunities I seized to go and visit my mom and siblings. On this fateful day, I went to visit my mom, as usual. Unfortunately, my father returned earlier than usual from work and met my absence. On arriving home, he demanded to know where I went. After I revealed that I went to see my mom, he drove down to her shop, got into an argument with her, hit her, and left in anger, leaving me behind. My mother immediately went along with me to report the case at my father’s workplace, after which we went to my aunt’s house to report the matter as well.

On arrival at my aunt’s house to discuss the issue at hand, she called my mother aside to tell her that she suspected that I was pregnant. My mother dismissed this but was persuaded by my aunt to run a pregnancy test just to be sure. The result turned out positive. She took me to another medical laboratory, and they confirmed the initial test carried out. I was in shock from the news. Pregnant? How? My mom demanded to know the details of who was responsible for my pregnancy, but I had no answer to give her. Upon further probing, I began to explain what had been happening in the house with my dad. About the alcohol and the woozy feeling, pain in my vagina, and the substances on my panties whenever I woke up.

My mom immediately took me to the police station to report the case, and my father was arrested. He confessed to drugging and raping me on numerous occasions. According to him, it was ‘the devil’s handwork’ and he was sorry. No words could explain how I felt after his confession; I was shattered and heartbroken, to say the least.