The police in Lagos have arrested a 17-year-old boy, Opeyemi Odujobi, for allegedly raping a schoolgirl, Sade (pseudonym) – an act which has resulted in pregnancy.
Odujobi allegedly raped the Junior Secondary School 3 pupil in September 2015 on Ayoola Street, in the Abule-Egba area of Lagos, where the duo lived.
It was gathered that Sade had lived with her grandfather, identified only as Richard, in the community for years while the suspect started living with Richard about a year ago.
Our correspondent gathered that Odujobi moved to Richard’s residence after his parents reportedly had a disagreement, which severed their relationship.
Fifteen-year-old Sade told the police that she was asleep around 11pm in September when the suspect allegedly sneaked to her side and raped her.
She said, “One night I was sleeping when Opeyemi (Odujobi) came to meet me and raped me. On that day, I saw bloodstain on my clothes and I felt pain in my body. I told my grandpa that I was not feeling good. He gave me medicine and I was alright. I did not know I was pregnant until I went to my father’s place. It was my stepmother who discovered the pregnancy.”
However, Odujobi said it was the girl who seduced him, adding that he indulged in the act when he could no longer control himself.
He said, “The girl seduced me, but I initially resisted it. It came to a stage I could no longer hold it and we had sex. I was afraid to report the issue, but it later led to pregnancy.”
The police, however, arraigned Odujobi before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ogba on one count of rape.
A police prosecutor, Inspector Benedith Aigbokan, who brought the defendant before the presiding Chief Magistrate, Mr. Tajudeen Elias, said the offence was punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.
The charge read, “That you, Odujobi Opeyemi (17), sometime in the month of September 2015, at about 11pm on Ayoola Street, Awori bus stop, Abule-Egba, Lagos, in the Ikeja Magisterial District, did defile a girl, aged 15, by inserting your penis into her private parts, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.”
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge and elected summary trial.
The presiding magistrate granted him bail in the sum of N250,000, with two responsible sureties in like sum, adding that one of the sureties must be a relation of the defendant, while the other must be a reputable community member.
The case was adjourned till March 2, 2016.
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