"This is not the first time" - victim recounts ordeal with rapist

Bala, 42, was arrested by police in Oyo State for allegedly raping an eight-year-old girl in Ibadan. On the Ajegunle incident, the victim (names withheld ) told policemen that the suspect, who is her late father’s friend, had had carnal knowledge of her twice.

The victim gave a graphic description of how her late father’s friend, whose identity was given simply as Ayela, had carnal knowledge of her in his apartment located on Mission Street. She disclosed that the suspect had on both occasions called her into his apartment while she was running errands for her grandmother and that at the end of the assault, gave her N50.

The bubble burst weekend, after a curious woman, who sighted the little girl coming out of the suspect’s apartment, reportedly asked her what happened behind closed door.

Her revelation, it was gathered, led to the invitation of policemen and subsequent arrest of the suspect. However, the suspect denied the allegation, but admitted to have offered the girl money each time he saw her because of the relationship he had with her late father. He said: “How can I rape my late friend’s daughter? They live on Ayorinde Street, while I live at Mission Street.

“Any time I see her passing by, I usually gave her money. Sometimes she comes to say hello. On this day, she just opened my door without knocking. I swear I did not rape her.”

The girl interrupted him, saying: “He is lying. He did it sometime ago. This is not the first time. It is the second time.” The girl, according to police sources, had been taken to the hospital for examination. The outcome of the result, which is expected to be out today, police sources hinted, would inform the next line of action on the matter.

The Ibadan incident happened at Ago Tapa, Mokola area of the metropolis. It wasgathered that the suspect allegedly lured the girl into his room and forced himself on her. According to sources, Bala enticed the naive girl with N100.

The girl’s mother was said to have noticed blood stains on her dress, which prompted her to question her. The victim told her mother how the suspect deceived her into his one room apartment and raped her. Sensing that the bubble had burst, the suspect was said to have escaped when he heard the voice of the enraged victim’s mother, who was heading towards his room.

The incident was later reported at Mokola Police Station and the suspect was arrested last Thursday. Vanguard was further informed that the latest rape case was not the first by the suspect. The man, father of two girls and a boy, was said to be fond of defiling minors in the area. The source said earlier in the year, he defiled a six-year-old girl, but with persistent plea by the suspect and his wife as well as payment of N30,000 for his victim’s treatment, the matter was swept under the carpet.