MICHAEL AKINOLA
“Anytime I see my baby, it constantly reminds me of the horror of being raped while the perpetrator is walking free on the streets without any form of reprimand over the mental torture he has subjected me to.”
P.M.EXPRESS reports the above as being the lamentation of a 17-year old girl, who was raped, impregnated, asked to keep the pregnancy and was eventually delivered of the baby in Lagos State.
The embittered victim stated that it was still fresh in her memory on 15th May, 2022, at Odeyemi compound, Aroyele area of Ikotun, when she had wanted to take her cloth to a tailor. She said that the perpetrator and their neighbour, Abideen Batini, asked her to come to his apartment and help take his own cloth to the tailor for amendments.
The innocent victim, who did not suspect anything, followed him to his room. And immediately she entered, Batini forcefully closed the door, brought out a knife and threatened to kill her if she made any resistance.
“He ordered me to remove my clothes, which I did and he forcefully raped me. And having satisfied himself, he allowed me to go but warned me not to tell anyone about it.”
“After the ugly incident, I did not tell anyone about it including my parents because Batini had seriously warned me that if I reveal what happened, he will kill me and out of fear, I kept everything to myself” she said.
However, the whole thing got exposed after some months as she became sick and a test was conducted at a hospital; the result showed that she was pregnant.
Then her parents asked her who was responsible. She finally opened up and told her parents what happened.
The parents contacted Batini to follow the path of peace but he snubbed both victim and the parents. But by then the parents had already persuaded her to keep the pregnancy.
She was eventually delivered of the baby without Batini showing any concern for the medical care and upkeep of the new born baby.
Thus, the matter was reported to the Police at Gender Section of the Command and the 22-year old Batini was arrested and detained at the Command for interrogation over his alleged conduct.
After thorough interrogation, the Police found him culpable for the alleged defilement, which attracts several years of imprisonment or life imprisonment.
He was subsequently charged before the Ogba Magistrate Court for the alleged offence, which contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of the State.
When he was arraigned, the Court denied him bail following a motion moved by the prosecutor, Supol Akeem Raji, asking the Court to refer the matter to the DPP for advice.
The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. B.O Osunsanmi, ordered his remand in custody at the Correctional Centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending the outcome of the DPP’s advice and directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send it to the DPP.
The matter was adjourned till 27th July, 2023, for mention for the report of the DPP’s advice to be made available, which will determine if the matter will be transferred to the High Court or not over jurisdiction.