Photo caption: The suspect
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 23-year-old man identified as Abdulrazak Muftau for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old girl (name withheld) in the Igbesa area of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area.
Our correspondent gathered that the suspect was arrested by the police division in Igbesa following a report made by the survivor’s father, identified simply as Babaoye.
According to a police document exclusively sighted by our correspondent on Tuesday, Babaoye told the operatives at the Igbesa Police Division that Muftau committed the offence in June 2024 but got wind of it several weeks later.
Following his arrest by the police operatives on Saturday, July 13, the suspect told the police that he and the survivor and met on social media, where they had been dating for some time.
Confirming the incident to our correspondent on Tuesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, told our correspondent that Muftau had confessed to having carnal knowledge of the survivor and insisted that the 16-year-old was his girlfriend at the time of the incident.
She said, “The suspect has been arrested. Upon interrogation, he confessed that he had been dating the girl on the Facebook app. The suspect also confessed to having had carnal knowledge of the teenage girl. He has been detained.”
PUNCH Metro reported a few days ago a similar incident when a police officer in Lagos State was detained for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl at the Area H Command in the Ogudu area of the state.
The suspect had earlier pretended to help the survivor recover her stolen phone but allegedly seized the momentum to assault the girl.
Considering the rising cases of rape, especially against a minors in Nigeria, a co-founder, and director of Action Health Incorporated, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Dr Uwemedimo Esiet, during an interview with our correspondent, urged the government and citizens to do more in ending sexual-related offences in the country.
He said, “This (sexual-related crime) is driven by social injustices, inequality, and patriarchy. The government can provide and support a pathway to redressing these, but we, the citizens, must take it upon ourselves that we want a more equitable society.”
