A 25-year-old man, Haruna Jimoh, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly abducting a 12-year-old girl and turning her into a sex slave.
The police on Monday arraigned Jimoh before the Ogba Chief Magistrate court in Lagos.
According to the police, the accused allegedly abducted the girl while she was on an errand for her grandfather around 8pm. He reportedly hid the girl in a nearby bush close to Erewa quarters, in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos and repeatedly defiled her.
The prosecutor, Victor Eruada, told the court that the accused kept the victim in the bush overnight and that when her grandfather went to rescue her, the accused smashed his head with a wood.
“The girls’ grandfather raised the alarm that attracted some passerby to the scene of crime. He was consequently arrested and handed over to the police in Ojo,” the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor further stated that the case was later transferred to the gender section of the command headquarters in Ikeja for further investigation.
The court did not take the plea of the accused following a motion moved by the prosecutor, Supol Victor Eruada, asking the court to refer the matter to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice since the girl involved is a minor.
The presiding magistrate, Mrs. M. O. Tanimola, ordered the accused to be remanded in correctional centre at Kirikiri town, Lagos and directed the prosecutor to send the file to the DPP before adjourning the matter to March 4, 2022.
