Meanwhile, she had apprised her
husband who is away at work in Benin, Edo State, of the incident. He
instructed her to report the matter to the police as soon as possible.
“The doctor examined her and asked me to have a look at my daughter’s private part. She explained that apart from the wound from which my daughter was bleeding, her hymen had been torn. The doctor said only a state hospital could give a report on such test since it was suspected that a crime might have been committed,” the woman said.
The case was reported at the Onipanu Police Division, Ota, later.
The police were said to have taken the little girl to a state hospital nearby, where a test was done and the same confirmation was made about the defilement of the girl.
When the police went to arrest Oyewole, she denied committing any crime and resisted arrest. But the school owner advised her to go with the police.
A member of the victim’s family, who did not want the case to be treated with levity, informed the Children’s Anti-Corruption Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, concerned with the protection of children’s future.
In company with this correspondent, CACTI visited Onipanu Police Division to find out how investigation into the matter was going.
While the divisional police officer was not available at the time, a divisional crime officer, said Oyewole had been locked up in a cell.
“The teacher is in the cell. This is a serious matter that we are still investigating. We are still working on the case. She will probably be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in Abeokuta soon,” the police officer said.
While in the premises of the police station, the accused’s mother, with tears on her face, approached CACTI’s group and knelt down pleading with them to let the matter be settled.
But when asked if she had asked her daughter why she carried out such act on the little girl, she said she had not asked her.
The victim’s mother was asked whether there was any possibility that her daughter might be confused as to who did such a thing to her, she said she considered it but that it had become clear that it was Oyewole.
“The night of the incident, we woke her up in the middle of the night just to be sure, we asked who did it to her, she said, ‘Aunty Jummy’. The following morning, it was the same answer.
“When we got to the hospital, the doctors threatened her with injection to say who really did it. My daughter can faint at the sight of an injection. That is what she hates most in life. But she repeated the same name.”
CACTI’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Omololu Akinwande, said there was a high possibility that the teacher had been sent to perform the act in order to use the girl’s blood for ritual purpose.
He said, “What you must note is that the girl is not in the accused teacher’s class. She is also a twin and the strange object the teacher allegedly used is suspicious.
“We cannot rule out the possibility that some wicked people had connived with the teacher to get them something from a twin. This is why this case must not be swept under the carpet.
“It is just unfortunate that many schools in Nigeria are no longer safe for children. Government needs to make it compulsory for schools to put in place CCTV cameras in order to keep children safe. When people know they are being watched, they are not likely to try something bad with children in their care.”
Akinwale insisted that rape in Nigeria had gone beyond sexual desire, adding that many now indulge in it for ritual purposes.
The phone number of the proprietor of Golden Sharon Nursery and Primary School was switched off when an attempt was made to contact her on Thursday.
Saturday PUNCH learnt on Friday that members of the accused’s family have sought the help of community leaders in the area to appeal to the victim’s parentst to drop the case.
A member of the victim’s family who did not want to be named, also told this correspondent that the police at the Onipanu division have been making efforts to make the parents drop the case.
“They told the mother that she would be the one paying for the transportation of police and the accused from Ota to Abeokuta for the duration of the investigation and anytime they need to go to court. They just want to pressure them into dropping the case,” the relation said.
But the spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, has said that the police at the division did not have any power to stop the prosecution of the case.
“I have been briefed on the case and I have been told the accused is still in custody. The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye, has directed that the case be transferred to the state CID. The CID will take over the investigation of the case and justice will surely be done in the matter,” he said.
The proprietor of the school was also arrested by the police on Friday.
“The doctor examined her and asked me to have a look at my daughter’s private part. She explained that apart from the wound from which my daughter was bleeding, her hymen had been torn. The doctor said only a state hospital could give a report on such test since it was suspected that a crime might have been committed,” the woman said.
The case was reported at the Onipanu Police Division, Ota, later.
The police were said to have taken the little girl to a state hospital nearby, where a test was done and the same confirmation was made about the defilement of the girl.
When the police went to arrest Oyewole, she denied committing any crime and resisted arrest. But the school owner advised her to go with the police.
A member of the victim’s family, who did not want the case to be treated with levity, informed the Children’s Anti-Corruption Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, concerned with the protection of children’s future.
In company with this correspondent, CACTI visited Onipanu Police Division to find out how investigation into the matter was going.
While the divisional police officer was not available at the time, a divisional crime officer, said Oyewole had been locked up in a cell.
“The teacher is in the cell. This is a serious matter that we are still investigating. We are still working on the case. She will probably be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in Abeokuta soon,” the police officer said.
While in the premises of the police station, the accused’s mother, with tears on her face, approached CACTI’s group and knelt down pleading with them to let the matter be settled.
But when asked if she had asked her daughter why she carried out such act on the little girl, she said she had not asked her.
The victim’s mother was asked whether there was any possibility that her daughter might be confused as to who did such a thing to her, she said she considered it but that it had become clear that it was Oyewole.
“The night of the incident, we woke her up in the middle of the night just to be sure, we asked who did it to her, she said, ‘Aunty Jummy’. The following morning, it was the same answer.
“When we got to the hospital, the doctors threatened her with injection to say who really did it. My daughter can faint at the sight of an injection. That is what she hates most in life. But she repeated the same name.”
CACTI’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Omololu Akinwande, said there was a high possibility that the teacher had been sent to perform the act in order to use the girl’s blood for ritual purpose.
He said, “What you must note is that the girl is not in the accused teacher’s class. She is also a twin and the strange object the teacher allegedly used is suspicious.
“We cannot rule out the possibility that some wicked people had connived with the teacher to get them something from a twin. This is why this case must not be swept under the carpet.
“It is just unfortunate that many schools in Nigeria are no longer safe for children. Government needs to make it compulsory for schools to put in place CCTV cameras in order to keep children safe. When people know they are being watched, they are not likely to try something bad with children in their care.”
Akinwale insisted that rape in Nigeria had gone beyond sexual desire, adding that many now indulge in it for ritual purposes.
The phone number of the proprietor of Golden Sharon Nursery and Primary School was switched off when an attempt was made to contact her on Thursday.
Saturday PUNCH learnt on Friday that members of the accused’s family have sought the help of community leaders in the area to appeal to the victim’s parentst to drop the case.
A member of the victim’s family who did not want to be named, also told this correspondent that the police at the Onipanu division have been making efforts to make the parents drop the case.
“They told the mother that she would be the one paying for the transportation of police and the accused from Ota to Abeokuta for the duration of the investigation and anytime they need to go to court. They just want to pressure them into dropping the case,” the relation said.
But the spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, has said that the police at the division did not have any power to stop the prosecution of the case.
“I have been briefed on the case and I have been told the accused is still in custody. The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye, has directed that the case be transferred to the state CID. The CID will take over the investigation of the case and justice will surely be done in the matter,” he said.
The proprietor of the school was also arrested by the police on Friday.
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