Zayla Odell, 22, has narrated how her father allegedly sexually abused and assaulted her for several years, beginning when she was eight.
The vicenarian disclosed this in a series of Twitter posts on her handle, @justsotired.
According to her, the father assaulted her both sexually and physically, even with her mother’s knowledge, and she decided to do nothing to stop the injustice against her daughter.
“I was sexually assaulted by my father. Not raped. Did he coerce me? Yes ! Did I give in to having sexual Intercourse with him? HELL NO! Cause I always told my mum or would run from home only to be brought back. My mum only fought my dad or called him a Molestor when they quarreled,” Zayla wrote in a tweet.
“A picture of me and my dad who molested me for years. Physically,verbally,mentally,financially abused me. I was 12 years here. The year I told everyone he was touching me. My life got worse cause my dad hit me for every slightest opportunity he got.💔,” She also stated.
She continued: “You can see how sad I was here. I hated taking pictures or being around him. No family or relative could relate to my pain. This man hurt and broke me in ways I didn’t ask for. This period he beat me so much almost every day. Was also the period he locked me in the cell.”
A poll conducted by NOIPOLLS in July 2019, revealed that most Nigerians (85%) believe that there is a high prevalence of rape in Nigeria.
According to the report, “about 3 in 10 Nigerians (26 per cent) disclosed that they know someone who has been raped in the past and the rape victims were particularly minors and young adults aged between 1 – 15 years (72 per cent) and 16 – 25 years (24 per cent) respectively. This statistic implies that one in every three girls would have experienced at least one form of sexual abuse by the time they reach 25 years”.
Zayla said she is one of the victims of sexual harassment. She also said she was unlawfully detained by police while fighting for justice for herself.
She said, “He also bribed our local police to lock me up in a cell after I had reported him. He would then ask them to beat me up with a baton and cain while I slept on the cell floors.
“My mum did nothing and kept enabling the situation. She would beat me, cut my hair off and threaten to leave me naked on the road because she felt like I was causing her marriage to fall apart. She would also agree to lock me up in a cell.
“He would coerce me into having sex with him many times, and if I didn’t comply, he would threaten to not pay my school fees. Which eventually led me to drop out of school and run to a new state when I turned 19. Ever since I’ve been barely surviving, now I’m 22 and in need of help for myself and my siblings.
“We all grew up in the same house, but each of us experienced all forms of other abuse.
“My youngest sibling is 11 and a girl. My dad has made some sexual comments about her body and I fear that he might touch her in her sleep. My baby brother (14) faces physical violence. My immediate younger sister (19) is currently going to school and my dad threatens not to pay for all my siblings’ education, since we confronted him recently (December 2022) for being a terrible father. He tried to use a machete on me and threatened to kill me and my siblings,” she added.