BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
A woman, simply identified as Nike, whose five-year-old daughter was allegedly defiled by her co-tenant, Olabiyi Oluwatomisin, has cried out for justice.
Her daughter had narrated how their male neighbour, aged 38, had been inserting his hand inside her private part whenever the mother was away.
The mother wept profusely upon discovering that her daughter had been serially assaulted sexually and abused by Oluwatomisin.
She urged the state government, security agencies and other concerned stakeholders to ensure that justice prevails in the matter.
Oluwatomisin was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services and after completion of investigation, the suspect was arraigned before an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court for defilement.
The Principal Staff Officer, Legal Services of the DSS, Osun State Command, A. A. Ademodi, informed the court that Oluwatomisin lured the girl into his room at their house located in Owode-Ede community, Osogbo,and forcefully defiled her.
Ademodi, the prosecuting counsel, said the victim was defiled when she was four years old in November 2022 and that the girl turned five years old on June 5, 2023.
The suspect was charged with a two-count charge bordering on indecent assault and forceful defilement of the child.
The charge sheet obtained by The Point reads, “That you, Olabiyi Oluwatomisin, male, 38 years of age, on or about 12 November, 2022, behind matrix filling station, Owode Ede, Osogbo, within the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court, did forcefully defile a child, thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 31 of the Child’s Right law of Osun State of Nigeria, 2007.
“That you, Olabiyi Oluwatomisin, male, 38 years of age, on or about 11 November, 2022, behind Matrix filling station, Owode Ede, Osogbo, within the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court, did indecently assault a child, thereby committed on offence contrary to and punishable under Section 360 of the Criminal Code law, Cap 34. Vol I, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.”
Meanwhile, the plea of the defendant was not taken, owing to the gravity of the charge.
The presiding Magistrate, M. A. Olatunji, ordered that Oluwatomisin be remanded in Ilesa Correctional Centre and also directed the DSS to forward the duplicate of the case file to the Osun State Ministry of Justice for legal advice.
The matter was adjourned till July 25 for the prosecuting agency to carry out the order.
