An 11-year-old girl was brutally raped by suspected ritualists in Lagos on November 29, 2015.
The little girl (name withheld) was sent on an errand by her grandmother, Mrs Lawal, to deliver okro to a customer when she was ambushed and raped.
The victim, who resides at Water Bus Stop along Lagos-Badagry Road, was said to have been abducted on her way to the next street when a 27-year-old bakery worker, identified as Sule, allegedly ambushed her, dragged her to an uncompleted building and raped her.
She was later found lying on a culvert unconscious, with blood all over her body.
It was alleged that after raping her, Sule abandoned the little girl there and ran away.
The suspect was arrested by police officers from Morogbo Divisional Police Headquarters a week later.
Recounting the horrible incident, the Primary 3 pupil said: ‘’After my grandma returned from the market that day, she sent me to her customer who sells cooked food at the other street. She asked me to supply her fresh okro which the customer had ordered for.
‘’It was while I was on my way there that uncle Sule, who works in a bakery at Itoro area, called me. He said he wanted to buy okro for his wife. I told him the okro was not for sale, and that my mother’s friend had ordered for it. He said I should follow him, but I refused. All of a sudden, he grabbed me and dragged me to an uncompleted building. When I tried to shout, he used his hand to cover my mouth. As I tried to struggle, he tore my clothes and removed my pants. He also used his nails to injure my back as I attempted to escape, he over powered me and raped me.”
Also speaking on the incident, Mrs Lawal, the grandma, gave her own account. She stated: “After waiting for about 30 minutes for her to come back from the errand, I started looking for her because the place where she was supposed to take the okro to was the next street, less than 10 minutes’ walk. It was around 2pm that I asked her to go and give the okro to my customer who placed the order.
“After waiting for her to come, I started looking for her before an Okada man came to alert me that they had found my grand-daughter at about 2:30pm, and that she was lying unconscious on a culvert close to Adebola School. When I got there, onlookers had gathered at the scene.
“I was pained at what I saw my little girl soaked in her own blood, her clothes torn. It was obvious she had been raped, as she was bleeding profusely, but because she was unconscious we didn’t know who was responsible. Immediately, I called my husband and he asked me to report the case to the police. When we got to Morogbo Police Station, they gave us police report and referred us to the General Hospital, Badagry.
“A doctor’s report from the hospital confirmed that my grand child was raped, as she had deep cuts and severe injuries inflicted on her virginal which caused the bleeding. The doctor stated that because of complications arising from the rape, her womb had been affected and that she needed urgent surgery. So they referred us to Igando General Hospital, along Iba -LASU road where they said they had the facility to handle her case.”
Also speaking on the incident, Mr Lawal, the grandfather of the victim, said, “I was not at home when my wife called me that something terrible had happened. Immediately, I asked her to go the police station to report the case. I met her at Morogbo Divisional Police Station.
“From Badagry General Hospital, I had to charter a cab that took us to Igando General Hospital, but because of traffic, we did not get to Igando until around 11pm and, by 12 midnight, she was in the theater because of the serious nature of her case. She was on admission from that day till Sunday when she was discharged.
‘’All we want is for justice to be done. Sincerely, we don’t know the effect of this rape on this little girl. We don’t know if the rapist did it for ritual purposes. We want justice because we don’t know the outcome of this. Already, we have spent about N150, 000 on the treatment and surgery she underwent. Currently, the police at Panti are demanding money to continue the prosecution of the case. One of them asked for N20, 000.”
It was gathered that the case was transferred from Morogbo to Lagos State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, Panti, for further investigation and the girl’s torn clothes stained with blood are being used as exhibits.
It was gathered that the victim, who is the first child of her mother, has been living with her grandparents since she was six years old.
