30-year-old man arrested for defiling a 2-year-old

The police have arrested a 30-year-old motorcycle rider, Garuba Abdulraman, for allegedly defiling a two-year-old, Pat, (pseudonym) in the Somolu area of Lagos State.

It was learnt that Abdulraman, an indigene of Niger State, also kicked the minor’s pregnant aunty, Alimat Muazu, when the later quizzed him on the child’s whereabouts.

The incident happened on Saturday on Ofor Street.

A relative of the victim, who did not identify himself, said the family did a medical test on her and it was discovered that her hymen had been broken.

He added that the hospital subsequently placed her on medication.

He said, “It happened on Saturday, February 21, 2015 around 11.30am.

“Pat’s mother lives in Gbagada, while her sister, Muazu, stays at Somolu. She decided to visit Muazu that day.

“It was during the visit that the girl suddenly went missing and everybody started looking for her.

“But somebody said he sighted Abdulraman, a motorcyclist, taking her away. So, some women trailed the child to an uncompleted building where he lives. When they got there, they met him and he didn’t tell them where the child was.”

It was learnt that there was an exchange of words between the women and the suspect, and in the ensuing scuffle, the suspect kicked Muazu in the stomach.

He was also said to have threatened to use cutlass to hack them if they moved closer.

Abdulraman dared the family to report to the police after which policemen from the Somolu Division were alerted.

A police source told Punch Metro that a case of assault was reported at the station.

He said, “When we got there, we found the girl in one of the rooms, in a big bowl of water.

“She could barely move and when she tried, she fell down. She began to cry. We didn’t suspect anything until we saw that her pants and clothes had been washed and hung on the line to dry. The suspect was also not putting on any clothes.”

The police were said to have taken the victim to the hospital where it was confirmed that there was penetration.

Abdulraman was arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on four counts of rape and assault.

The suspect, who spoke through an interpreter to the court, confirmed that he assaulted Muazu and threatened to use cutlass on them.

He, however, denied raping the victim.

The matter was adjourned till April 8, 2015.

Credit: Samson Folari/Punch Metro