A 19-year-old woman, identified as Ugo Rejoice, has appealed against the continued detention of her father, Uche Didie, despite accusing him of sexually abusing her for several years in Lagos.
Rejoice alleged that the abuse started in 2019, when she was 12 years old, and continued until she disclosed the matter on September 6, 2026.
According to her, the alleged incidents occurred once or twice a month, while her father repeatedly warned her not to disclose what was happening.
She said, “He has been having sexual intercourse with me since 2019. I have never had a boyfriend. My dad is the only man who has had carnal knowledge of me.”
Rejoice further alleged that her father forced himself on her and threatened to beat her whenever she contemplated telling anyone. She added that he sometimes gave her gifts despite the alleged abuse.
“He did not convince me; he forced himself on me. He always asked me not to tell anyone and said he would beat me if I told anybody. Sometimes, he also bought me gifts,” she said.
She said her mother had previously been informed about the allegation and confronted Didie, but he denied it. Rejoice later confided in a close friend, the son of their pastor, who subsequently informed the pastor.
Didie was reportedly arrested by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress and handed over to the Police Tactical Unit in Araro, Ikorodu. He was later transferred to the Gender Unit headed by ACP Oluwatoyin Kazeem.
Although Rejoice said she wanted the alleged abuse to stop, she said she did not want her father imprisoned because of the possible impact on the family.
“I know the best thing is for my dad to be arrested, but that’s not what I want because I don’t want it to affect our future. I’m his second child, and there are three of us, two girls and one boy,” she said.
She added that she would rather leave her parents’ home and stay with either her grandmother in Agege or her aunt in Egbeda.
“I wanted it to stop, I want him to be released, but I will stop staying with my parents. I will go to my grandmother in Agege or my aunt in Egbeda,” she said.
However, Didie gave a different account in a video, disputing his daughter’s claim that the alleged abuse began in 2019.
He claimed that the sexual relationship only started in 2026.
“Na this year I start dey do am, na this year I start dey fuck am, my daughter Rejoice. The time wey the mama ask me that time, e never dey happen,” he said.
The allegations remain subject to investigation by the relevant authorities.