Photo: Man Arrested for Raping 14 year old Girl in Oyo State

A Yoruba proverb questioning a palm kernel buyer found dancing with a goat kid aptly describes the allegation against one Ajani Yahaya (24) of Mapo area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Instead of purchasing only the dry meat, popularly known as Tinko in Yoruba, that a 14-year-old girl was hawking for sale, he allegedly decided to get another service he was not offered by forcefully having unlawful carnal knowledge of the girl.

reports that the incident occurred last Sunday,
September 28, 2014 at about 5p.m. at his residence at C2/38A, Mapo Hill in Ibadan. The girl, a secondary school student on holiday, was living at Yemetu
Adeoyo area of the city with her aunt whom she helps
 in hawking dry meat for sale.

On getting to Mapo on the day of the incident, Crime
Reports learnt that Yahaya asked the girl to bring her
wares upstairs where he lived and the girl complied. But on getting to him, he allegedly used a handkerchief to cover her mouth and dragged her
into his room.
According to the girl:

“I tried to shout but my voice could not get far and
no one heard me. He raised my skirt and forcefully
removed my underpants, after which he had his way.
After he finished, he used the handkerchief to clean
my private part. As I was about to leave, he started
begging me and offered me N500. When I refused, he
shouted and threatened me so I collected it from
him.”

Afraid of what might likely be the consequence of wiping her vulva region with a handkerchief, the girl reported what happened to her when she returned home, prompting her guardian to report the case at Mapo police station.

The girl however said that Yahaya was not the one who deflowered her, as she had a boyfriend called Azeez with whom she used to have sex. But she maintained that the suspect forced himself on her.
When interviewed by Crime Reports at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yahaya, an Ibadan indigene who fixes floor tiles, gave conflicting stories about what happened on that Sunday. At first, he denied seeing the girl on that particular day because he went to a party with his mother. Later, he admitted being at home. He also said he purchased
dry meat from the girl but added that the girl must have told a lie against him because he did not give her the money she requested for.

“Khadijat told a lie against me that I forcefully had
carnal knowledge of her. There was nothing between
us apart from the fact that I used to buy dried meat
from her. On that Sunday, my mother and I went out. I
didn’t know what happened till the next day when
police came to arrest me,” he said.

When prodded, based on his statement to the police,
Yahaya changed his former narration and said:

“That Sunday evening around 6p.m., it is true that I
called the girl to sell dry meat for me. Before that
day, we used to relate and usually joked with
ourselves. When I paid her, she told me that she
misplaced money, and I should assist her.
Unfortunately, I was broke, so I pleaded with her not
to be angry, but she insisted that I should give her
something. I angrily collected my change from her
she also left angrily. Before God and man, I never had
sex with her. I never wooed her either.”

Confirming the incident, the police image maker in Oyo State, Olabisi Okuwobi-Ilobanafor said that the suspect would be charged to court after the completion of investigations.