A 16-year-old girl, Ibukun, is undergoing psychological and medical treatment in a shelter of the Lagos State Government after she was allegedly raped and impregnated by a businessman, Mr. Adewale Fajemiroye, in the Ikorodu area of the state.
The suspect, who is married with three children, was alleged to have forced the Junior Secondary School Two pupil to have an abortion in a medical centre in Ijegun, Ikotun.
About two weeks afterwards, the 43-year-old was alleged to have raped the victim again, threatening to deal with her if she told anyone about it.
Ibukun, who had stayed with the Fajemiroyes for about two years, was said to have confided in a friend, who informed her mother.
The friend’s mother was reported to have alerted policemen from the Ijede Police Division and the suspect was arrested.
However, our correspondent gathered that policemen at the division allegedly asked the victim to return to the suspect’s house.
The friend’s mother was said to have contacted the Ikorodu office of the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, which took the matter to the police command headquaters, Ikeja.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, to avert any compromise ordered that the matter be transferred to the gender unit of the state command.
The victim, Ibukun, who attends Ikorodu Junior Grammar School, told PUNCH Metrothat she was living with her parents in Ilaro, Ogun State, when her aunt, one Amina, took her to live with the Fajemiroyes at their house on Kabiru Jokonba Street, Eruwe, Ikorodu.
She explained that she assisted the couple by catering to their three children, just as she was also enrolled in a school.
She said, “I started living with them in March 2016. I was given a room to stay and every morning, I prepared their children for school. My aunt, who lives in Ojuelegba, Lagos State, only checked up on me once.
“The man is a businessman, while the wife works in an office. She leaves home by 5am and returns around 9pm.
“Six months after I got to the house, the man called me and said he wanted to take me as his daughter and I said it was ok.
“I asked if he wanted to kidnap me. He dragged me and hit my head against the wall. He didn’t care if I got injured. He pushed me to the bed. I had a headache because of the injury on my head. He removed my clothes. I had no more power to stop him. After he was done, he told me that if I told anybody, he would kill me and I would not go to school again. I called my aunt that day and explained to her. She promised to act, but didn’t do anything.”
She explained that from that point, the suspect raped her regularly while the wife and children were away.
Ibukun said she couldn’t tell the suspect’s wife because she had high blood pressure.
She claimed that she confided in a girl who later joined her in the house, adding that the girl informed the suspect’s wife’s mother who called her (Ibukun) to confirm the story.
After confirming the story, she said the woman abused her and said she wanted to destroy the family.
“He continued to sleep with me after the girl packed out of the house. Because of the problem, I lost concentration in school and when I did exams, I never performed well.
“One day, he called me and asked if I didn’t know that I was pregnant. I was shocked because I never noticed. He took me to a hospital along Ijegun Road where I supposed he had spoken with the doctor before our arrival.
“I was given an injection and immediately, I became numbed. The doctor said I would spend two days at the hospital, but he told the doctor that I couldn’t spend up to two days because he didn’t want anybody to know. The doctor told him not to worry that I would leave that day. At a point, blood started gushing out of my private parts and a nurse injected me again. I was given about three injections. This happened on November 28, 2017,” she added.
Ibukun said matters got to a head about two weeks later when the suspect sneaked into her room and raped her again while she was still hurting from the abortion.
She said she informed a schoolmate, who informed her mother.
“My friend’s mother called the police at the Ijede division. I was asked to see a policeman who listened to my story.
“Last Wednesday, the man was arrested. They asked me what happened and I told them everything. However, I observed that whenever they wanted to ask him questions, they would ask me to go outside. After everything, they asked me to return to the house.
“I told my friend’s mother and she asked me to stay at her place. When the police discovered that I didn’t return to the house, they called the woman and threatened to arrest her if they discovered I stayed at her place,” she said.
A source at the OPD told our correspondent that Ibukun was brought to the agency’s office at Ikorodu by the friend’s mother.
He explained that the agency took her to a shelter.
“We took the matter to the CP’s office and the Area N Commander was called, but he claimed not to be aware. At that point, the policeman handling the case was contacted and he was told that the CP was interested in the case and it should be transferred to the command,” the source said.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim had been taken to Mirabel Centre, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja for medical tests.
The results of the tests had yet to be released as of the time of filing this report.
When our correspondent contacted the victim’s aunt, Aminat, on the telephone, she was not reachable.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident, adding that the suspect was in custody.
He denied the allegation that the police at the Ijede division attempted to shield the suspect from prosecution.
He said, “A girl aged 15 was sexually abused by her supposed guardian. The girl is a relation to the suspect’s wife. The suspect has been serially having intercourse with her, unknown to the relation. The girl got pregnant and the man took her to a medical doctor for an abortion. He, however, lied that he was her father and that he wanted the abortion to save her life because she was actually in a bad situation. So, the doctor, who ordinarily would not do the abortion, did it to save her life.
“He has made confessional statements to the police. But even without that, we have aprema facie case against him. It is a truism that he took the girl to a hospital. It is a truism he was the one who requested that abortion be carried out on her.
“No Divisional Police Officer will ever try to bury a case of this magnitude. They all know the stance of the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi.”
He said the doctor’s statements of defence would be investiagted, adding that nobody had been exonerated yet.
The Director of the OPD, Mrs. Olubukola Salami, condemned the rape, saying the agency would follow the case to the end.
“OPD condemns the act of child abuse in its entirety and will continue to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book. We affirm our stand with the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, that there will be no room for offenders in the state,” she added.
Source : Punch
