Maro Ashake, an 18-year-old motorcyclist, has been arraigned by the police before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Yaba, Lagos State for the alleged abduction and rape of a 15-year-old girl.
The incident was reportedly occurred on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Oko Afo, in the Badagry area. The accused was arraigned on a two count charge of abduction and rape.
PUNCH reports that the girl (name withheld), was attending computer training school as she had just finished with her secondary school education and on the day of the incident, the girl had left home to attend her computer classes after her mother took her younger sibling to school and her father had left for work.
Her mother decided to look for her in her computer school when she returned to meet the girl’s absence. On getting there, her mother discovered that she was not at the school. The girl’s father alerted the police over her disappearance when she could not be found.
According to reports, the girl returned home after eight days and a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity revealed that the accused and the girl were in a relationship. The source said that on that fateful day, the girl had gone to Ashake’s house and that during the whole period she disappeared from home , she was actually hiding in the accused friend’s house.
The accused was said to have had carnal knowledge of the girl during the time she was allegedly with him. He was later arrested and arraigned in court.
The charges read in part, “That you, Maro Ashake, aged 18, on June 17, at about 9am, at Oko Afo, Badagry, Lagos State, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did abduct one Temitope and detained her for the purpose of having carnal knowledge of her, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 267 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.”
The defendant, Ashake, however pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Mr. E. E. Bassey, the counsel for the defence applied for bail and the presiding magistrate, Mrs. A. O. Soladoye, granted bail to be paid in the sum of N300,000 and two sureties in like sum.
The case was adjourned till August 10, 2015.
