Police operatives have arrested a man whose identity is yet to be ascertained for allegedly luring a 10-year-old girl with N2,000 and defiling her in the Opako area of Adigbe, Abeokuta, the State capital.
According to The PUNCH, a source who pleaded anonymity on Sunday that the incident happened on Saturday when the suspect allegedly booked a room in the hotel and informed the receptionist he was expecting his child.
The receptionist however became suspicious after discovering a used condom in the hotel room after the suspect and the victim had left the hotel prompting the receptionist to raise the alarm about the incident.
The source said, “Just this evening, a man came to one hotel at Adigbe, Abeokuta, booked a short-term room, and pretended he’d be expecting a child soon. Long story short, he had sex with a 10-year-old girl and gave her N2,000.
“Some residents claimed he’d been doing similar things in the past. Those within the compound of the hotel didn’t even hear noise, but the hotel receptionist raised the alarm after she saw a used condom in the toilet.
“There are reports that he had been doing it with the girl before now. Information has it that the man had been picked up by the police and the young girl has narrated what happened.”
Confirming the incident, a senior police officer in the area noted that when officers from the division closest to the hotel visited the scene, they discovered that the suspect had been taken into custody by some officers to whom the victim’s mother had reported the crime.
The officer added that the division had initiated an investigation into the matter.
“We have visited the scene and we gathered that it happened. The mother of the victim was said to have reported to some security operatives who were the ones that arrested the suspect,” the senior officer said.
However when contacted, spokespsrson for the State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, on Sunday, stated that she had yet to be informed of the matter.
“I have not heard it. I am not aware,” she said in a terse message.
On March 21, a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja sentenced Dennis Okubiat to 20 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl over a three-month period, which resulted in urinary incontinence.
Justice Ismail Ijelu noted that the victim testified she had gone for evangelism and decided to check on the convict, who had been absent from church. This was after her pastor encouraged members to visit those who had not attended church services for a while.
