BENIN-CITY, Edo -                                            The death of a 17-year-old teenage girl who was impregnated by her herbalist father has thrown both the magistrate court sitting in Benin, the Edo State capital and the whole community in sorrow.

The girl whose name was given as gift, died along with four others in an accident along Benin-Auchi highway, while travelling to Benin on her way to the court, to testify against her father who has repeatedly abused her.

The magistrate court, however, went ahead to arraign the 52-year-old herbalist, Jacob Alonge, for repeatedly raping his daughter at their home in Ososo village, Akoko-Edo.

The prosecutor told the court that the convict, who turned his daughter to a sex slave for several years, also instructed her never to sleep with any other man.

“Aside from raping the 17-year-old girl repeatedly and impregnating her, he procured abortion for her and shaved the hair in her private parts.

“Gift had become pregnant a second time when the matter came to public knowledge and he was arrested by the police and arraigned in court.

“The pregnant girl, however, died along with four others in an accident along Benin-Auchi highway, while traveling from Ososo to Benin on the way to the court.

“After learning of the auto crash, Jacob who had earlier pleaded guilty to the counts against him and was about to be sentenced, changed his plea on the day his daughter and the others died,” the prosecutor narrated to the court.

But the presiding Chief Magistrate, D. I. Adamaigbo in a ruling on Thursday, sentenced him to five years on the first count of possession of fetish wrap of Gift’s pubic hair; two years for raping and impregnating her and 14 years for repeated sexual assault.

The presiding Chief Magistrate, D. I. Adamaigbo, said the counts should run concurrently.