A three-year-old girl has accused her neighbour, simply identified as Boda Ope, said to be in his 30s, of attempting to rape her on Olala Lane, off Osere in Ilorin West LGA of Kwara State.
The victim told our correspondent that, “Boda Ope fi idiwan sibi idi mi (Boda Ope tried to insert his penis inside my private parts).
Narrating the incident, her mother, Iya Saheed, said, “Around 4pm while at my shop, my daughter said she wanted to go and poopoo at home close by. After a while, I called home and was told that she was playing in the compound. When her elder brother came, I sent him to go and check on her but he was told she had returned to the shop.
“I started looking for her, and one of my neighbours said he saw Boda Ope when he came down to buy biscuits. After we searched the vicinity, it was suggested that we should search all the rooms in the compound. And suddenly we saw him coming with my daughter from upstairs and he said she went inside with him when he came to buy biscuits. My child was about to cry at that moment but he (Ope) carried her on his chest. I thanked him. But while we were going, I asked my daughter what happened and she told me what you heard from her now.”
Iya Saheed added that, “The doctor at the hospital where we took her for checks said there was an attempt to penetrate her but that she was not deflowered. Maybe if I had delayed a minute, it would have been another story.”
Contacted, NSCDC spokesman in the state, Ayoola Michael, said, “The suspect is with us. Investigation is ongoing.”