Samson Folarin
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 31-year-old boat operator, Ayo Festus, for allegedly raping a Senior Secondary School one pupil, Lola, in the Igbogbo, Ikorodu area of the state.
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PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect deflowered the victim while she was working for her guardian at a shop on Solawon Street.
Festus, who had an apartment in the house where the shop was, allegedly took the victim into his room and raped her.
The guardian, identified only as Iya Aliyah, had seen her groaning with pains on the bed and asked her what was wrong.
She was said to have lied until a resident prodded her before she opened up, saying Festus raped her.
The case was subsequently reported at the Igbogbo Police Division, leading to the arrest of the Ilaje, Ondo State indigene.
Lola, who spoke to our correspondent, said she believed that the suspect hypnotised her, adding that she had rejected his sexual advances many times.
She said, “I go to my guardian’s shop every Saturday to assist her with sales and care of her children. Every time I was alone in the shop, he would pretend that he came to play with the children. He would then start making love advances to me, which I always rejected. I asked him that if I were his younger sister, would he advise me to do such a thing?
“He kept pressurising me and one day, I got fed up and sprayed otapiapia (local insecticide) in his eyes and he left. The following Saturday while I was in the shop, he returned. I asked if what I did to him the last time was not a deterrent enough. I got a knife and threatened to stab him. He said he knew what to do to me.
“The Saturday after that, I was in the shop as usual and was working. I was backing the outside when a hand held me from behind. He was the one. He said what he had been discussing with me all the while, that it was time he did it.
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“He took me inside the house, pushed me on the bed and raped me. I was a virgin. I could not tell my guardian because I was afraid of what her reaction could be.”
The 19-year-old said after the alleged rape, she started her menstruation and she did not arrive home on time due to the rounds of sex the suspect had with her.
“I suspect that he hypnotised me. I want the government to teach him the lesson of his life because I am not his first victim; he has destroyed the lives of many other girls like me. We are not in any relationship and I am not his girlfriend,” she added.
Her guardian, Iya Aliyah, said Lola had been staying with her for the past eight years.
While describing the victim as “slow,” she noted that her primary concerns were the risks of the unprotected sex the suspect had with Lola.
She said, “I started suspecting when I saw her in pain on the bed and I asked what the problem was. She did not tell me. I started abusing her and asked if she wanted to return to her mother in the village.
“I was angry and was about to beat her up when a man intervened and interrogated her. That was when she opened up. From her account of the incident, I was scared the man hypnotised her. I took her to an auxiliary nurse who ran some tests on her and confirmed that she had been deflowered.
“I was advised to take her to a health centre for more tests. We were later introduced to a human rights organisation which asked us to report to the police because the motive of the man is not clear. For him to have had unprotected sex with her, he could have transmitted any disease to her; that is if he did not have any diabolic intention.”
She added that Lola was later taken to Mirabel Centre of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where she was examined and counselled.
Iya Aliyah said there had been pressure on her family to drop the case.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Festus was arrested by the police on Saturday, April 21.
The suspect, who spoke to our correspondent on Sunday, said he was prepared to marry Lola, adding that he regretted not seeking the guardian’s consent before deflowering her.
He claimed that the sex was consensual, saying the victim was his girlfriend and he had a love letter she wrote to him as proof.
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He said, “I have spoken to the girl’s mother (guardian) to forgive me. I have sent my landlord and younger brother to her as well. I cannot lie that I did not do it. But how the girl suddenly turned her back against me is what amazes me. She is my girlfriend.
“It was only once that I slept with her. And that was when I deflowered her on Saturday, March 17. It happened in my house and she was not angry. I promised to marry her because I met her as a virgin, which is something rare for a girl of her age. I give her money.
“I did not run away from home as they claimed. I work from Monday to Friday and stay at home on weekends. I see her on Saturdays when she goes to the shop.
“It is a lie that she sprayed insecticide on me or threatened me with a knife. I have a good relationship with her mother (guardian). After I deflowered her, she even bought a wristwatch for me and gave me a love letter. She said she had decided that whoever deflowered her would marry her. And I accepted it.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident, adding that investigations were ongoing.
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