NEWS DIGEST – A 28-year-old man, Idris Jaji, who allegedly impregnated a teenage girl and abandoned her, was on Wednesday charged before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.
Jaji, a commercial motorcyclist, who resides at Alagbado, a suburb of Lagos, is facing a three-count charge bordering breach of peace and failure to supply necessaries.
According to Police Prosecutor Clifford Ogu, the offences were committed between 2017 and February 2018 at the apartment of the accused.
Ogu said the accused impregnated a 17-year-old girl and took her away from her grandmother, where she was staying.
“The accused told the 68-year-old grandmother, Mrs Adepeju Adebawo, that he was ready to take full responsibility for the girl.
Read Also:
“Thereafter, the accused maltreated the girl, beating her at the slightest provocation and also failed to provide for her needs during pregnancy.
“When the girl, who is now 18 years old this year gave birth, the accused abandoned her and the child in the hospital, thereby allowing the grandmother to pay the hospital bills.
“The accused also failed to provide for the girl and the baby up till date, ” he told the court.
Ogu added that it was a concerned neighbour who reported the case at the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) in Surulere.
The offences contravened Sections 168(d), 172 and 206 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that desertion of children attracts a fine of N100,000, while desertion of pregnant woman carries a fine of N45, 000.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Chief Magistrate Taiwo Akanni granted the accused bail of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case
until Feb. 26. (NAN)
