Press Release
“Today, May 2, 2024, BraveHeart Initiative for Youth & Women welcome the news of the rearrest of Mr. Jacob Alonge, a fugitive who has been on the run for four years.
“Mr. Alonge escaped from Nigeria Correctional Services Edo State in October 2020, where he was serving a 21-year sentence for the incestuous rape and brutalization of his teenage daughter.
“The re-arrest today is a victory for justice and for the parents of Rhoda Braimoh and Promise Ezekiel, two of the BraveHeart Initiative staff involved in the court prosecution who died in a mysterious accident alongside others.
“For four years, Mr. Alonge received tipoffs and avoided rearrests in the protection of his community in Ososo. Ironically, the arrest today would have been impossible without the tipoff and collaboration of concerned men and women in his community where Alonge has been enjoying protection, according to the briefing from the Nigeria Police.
“The re-arrest confirms the maxim that the hands of the law are never too short to catch up with a criminal. We are encouraged by the determination and courage of the undercover police officers who work tirelessly to effect the final arrest.
“We call on the Nigeria Correctional Services to take adequate steps to prevent another escape by Alonge and to continue to prioritize the rearrest of several other inmates who escaped alongside Alonge during the 2020 jailbreak and who remained free from justice. All inmates and detainees who escaped during the jailbreak in 2020 alongside Alonge must be rearrested to restore public safety across communities in Edo state.
“BHI appreciates and congratulates the Edo State Commissioner of Police, his gallant officers and the local intelligence team who stood on the side of justice by exposing and fostering the rearrest of Alonge.
“We at BHI remain committed to exposing and tackling all forms of gender-based violence in Edo State. We count on the continued support of the Edo State Government, Edo State Police Command, Traditional and Religious leaders, Vigilante Groups, Youth Associations, Women Groups, Community Networks and the media.”
Priscilla Usiobaifo,
Executive Director – BHI.
Gift was reportedly impregnated in 2017 by her father who then forced her to procure crude abortion before impregnating her again in 2018.
On August 1, 2019, Magistrate D.I. Adamaigbo at Ososo, in the Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State, sentenced Jacob to 21 years in jail for having carnal knowledge of, and repeatedly raping and impregnating his daughter.
Adamaigbo in her verdict said: “It has been established beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused had carnal knowledge of the victim as she said in her statement: ‘My father by the name Jacob Alonge used to wake me up at night and said I should follow him for prayers. When we reach (sic) inside the bush, he will force me and have sexual intercourse with me.’
“Then in the second statement which she made at the state police headquarters, she stated and I quote, ‘last year which is 2017, my father by name Joseph Alonge, has been having sex with me; he threatened me not to tell anybody and if I do, he will kill me’
“She stated further in the same statement that and I quote, ‘one night, he called me and put me on top of a stone and used a razor blade to shave my private part and threatened me not to tell anybody’’. This statement was corroborated by the police statement in evidence.
“The convict admitted in his statement and the law is that evidence admitted need no further proof. The defence that he was lured into the crime by his own daughter is an afterthought. We, therefore, find him guilty of each of the counts.”
Alonge the witch doctor and incestuous father was sentenced on three counts of unlawful possession of fetish wrap of the victims’ pubic hair; unlawful and indecent canal knowledge of his biological daughter and repeated sexual assault and impregnating her.
