A 17-year-old boy, Jamiu Adebayo, has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly defiling his neighbour’s eight-year-old daughter in the Aregbe area of Abeokuta, the state capital.
It was gathered on Sunday that the suspect reportedly lured the survivor into his parents’ sitting room, instructed her to remove her underwear, and then defiled her.
The command confirmed the incident, stating that the suspect had been arrested and that a thorough investigation was underway to uncover the crime’s circumstances.
It was learnt from the command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, on Sunday that the survivor’s mother, identified only as Olabode, was away when neighbours called to inform her that blood was dripping from her daughter’s private parts. She noted that the survivor had initially told her parents’ neighbours that a stick had caused the injury.
The command said Olabode told the police that she was shocked and filled with fear upon discovering blood gushing from her daughter’s private parts when she arrived at the scene.
While trying to determine the cause of the bleeding, It was learnt that all efforts to persuade the minor to reveal what had happened were futile, as she repeatedly insisted on the same explanation she had given her neighbours —that a stick had injured her private parts.
After further pressure and persuasion, the survivor reportedly confessed to her mother that a 17-year-old Adebayo, who lived in the neighbouring building, had raped her.
The command stated that the survivor confessed the suspect lured her into their sitting room, where he allegedly climbed on top of her and committed the sexual assault.
Odutola said, “The suspect took her (the survivor) to their bathroom to clean the blood, then instructed her to change into another pair of underwear. He also persuaded her to lie, claiming that a stick had caused the injury to her private parts.
“Detectives swiftly sprang into action and apprehended the suspect. A medical form has been issued to the victim and her mother for examination and reporting. Preliminary investigations are currently underway.”
A similar incident was reported in September, when the command arrested a 55-year-old man, Hassan Wasiu, for allegedly raping his neighbour’s 13-year-old daughter in his apartment on Falowo Street, Makun, in the Sagamu area of the state.
The suspect had allegedly lured the survivor into going into his room to defile her.
The crime, which was reported, also left the survivor bleeding uncontrollably before she was rushed to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu for medical attention.
