Outraged by the alleged sexual abuse of their seven-year-old daughter by a neighbour in Ikorodu, Lagos State, the family is demanding swift and decisive action from the authorities.
As learned by Quest Times, Adeola Adesanya, the aunt of the victim whose identity is being kept confidential, expressed dismay over the police’s handling of the case, claiming that the suspect was released without proper prosecution due to overcrowded correctional centers in the state.
“The incident happened on October 21. When I got home, my daughter told me that he caught Baba Abdulahi in an awkward position with my foster daughter and when she took the girl in to ask what she was doing with the man, she revealed to my daughter that the said Baba Abdulahi was touching her private parts. My daughter said when she went out to confront the man, he was nowhere to be found,” she narrated.
“I reported the case to the Igbogbo Police Station and the child was also questioned. That was when we realised that the person molesting her was the younger brother to Baba Abdulahi. I was told to pay the police the sum of N5,000 as transport fare before they could arrest the suspect, which I did. After the arrest, I was told to go and carry out like two different tests in two separate hospitals which I did and the results confirmed that there was a penetration.
Adesanya, deeply concerned about the perceived lack of commitment to justice, highlighted the urgency of addressing the matter, emphasizing the orphaned status of the girl under her care.
“I gave the result to the police who told me the case would be prosecuted in court. But to my surprise, some days to the agreed date that we were to meet in court, I was called by the police that we could no longer go to court and that the suspect had been released because there was a circular that the correctional centres were filled up and could not accommodate inmates.
“This girl is an orphan put in my care after her mother, who was my sister, died. The only thing I can do for her at this time is to ensure that justice is served but with the way the police are going about the case, I am scared it may result to justice denied,” Adesanya noted.
Despite attempts to contact the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, there has been no response to calls and messages.
