Teenager remanded for allegedly defiling neighbour’s 5-year-old daughter on election day

An Ikeja Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ogba, Lagos State remanded a teenager for allegedly raping a five-year-old girl during the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.

Magistrate Mrs B. O. Osusanmi remanded the defendant Tosin Oloyede on Wednesday,  March 8, at the Special Correctional Centre for Boys in Oregun pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution.

The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Akeem Raji, told the court that the incident happened on February 25, 2023.

Raji explained that the 16-year-old suspect allegedly defiled his neighbour’s daughter around 2 pm in the Ikorodu area of the state.

According to the prosecutor, the offence committed contravened Section 27 and is punishable under Section 210 (8) of the Child Right Law of Lagos State 2015.

The defendant’s plea was not taken as he was brought to the court on a remand application.

When the matter was called in court on Wednesday, the victim began to cry immediately after she saw the suspect who raped her.

The investigation police officer, Inspector Esther Igbineweka, told Magistrate Osusanmi that the suspect made a confessional statement at the Igbogbo Police Station when the parents reported the matter and he also made a confessional statement at the police command in Ikeja.

Igbineweka said, “The defendant confessed to us that he had carnal knowledge with the victim.”

However, in court, the suspect only admitted that he touched the girl.

The father of the victim said: “We went to cast our vote on election day and when we returned, my son said he was playing football outside when the boy raped his sister.

“While he was playing the ball outside, he said he discovered that he didn’t see his sister and went in search of her. He told us that he caught the boy who is my neighbour’s son when he got inside the house.

“My son also told us that the parents of the boy begged him not to tell us when we returned but my son said how will he not tell us about such a thing that happened to his sister.”

The case was adjourned till April 12, 2023, for the DPP’s legal advice.