3 suspected rapists arrested for impregnating 14-year-old girl(Photo)

Three men have been arrested for allegedly raping and
impregnating a 14-year-old girl in the Agric, Ikorodu
area of Lagos State.
Punch learnt that the suspects – Kingsley Oke, Henry
Osadere and Francis Ekwe – were arrested in the
Majidun, Ikorodu area of Lagos State, before they were
transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja.It
was gathered that the suspects, who lived in the same
area with the parents of the teenager, identified only
as Ijeoma, allegedly raped the girl in August 2016,
after the mother went for a vigil.
It was gathered that Ijeoma, a primary 6 pupil, was
later discovered by the mother to be pregnant, and
she reported to the police at the Owutu division.The
police said the three men were arrested on September
9, 2016.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Ijeoma said one of the
suspects threatened to kill her if she disclosed the
rape to anyone.
She said, “It was Uncle Kingsley (Oke) who first
raped me. On that evening, he called me and
said he would send me on an errand. When I
went to his room, he immediately locked the
door.
“I started begging him, but he forcefully carried
me to his bed and raped me. On the second
occasion, it was one man called Baba Ijebu that
molested me. I had been sent to his house to
collect an item.
“While in his house, he raped me. I cried, but
he said I would die if I told anyone. The third
man was Henry (Osadere). I don’t want to talk
about it again.”
Forty-three-year-old Osadere, however, denied raping
Ijeoma, saying she was a wayward girl.
He said, “She came to my place and said she
had many boyfriends. I asked how a teenager
like her had several boyfriends. Anytime she
came to my apartment, she would steal some
items. That was why I sent her away.
“I was surprised that she said I was one of
those who raped her. She said she had a three-
month-old pregnancy. I don’t know the other
suspects.The girl lied against me. She knows the
people who messed around with her. It was
because I stopped her from coming to my house
that she lied against me.”
Oke, 30, a welder, said, “I have known the girl
since 2014. She usually came to my house to
play. She is a wayward girl. Everyone knows
about her promiscuity. I never raped her.”
Ekwe, 52, said Ijeoma and her mother had begged him
in August to borrow them some money, which he did,
adding that he did not rape the girl.
The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said
the suspects would be charged to court at the end of
investigations.
Punch