A 32-year-old man, Tope Thomas, appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Thursday for allegedly defiling his neigbhour’s three-year-old girl. The accused, who resides at No. 4, Mafo Close, Off Abeokuta Road, Ogba, a suburb of Lagos, was arraigned on a two-count charge of defilement and causing the breach of peace.
The Prosecutor, Sgt. Jimah Iseghede, told the court that the offences were committed on Aug. 28, at the accused residence. Iseghede said the accused invited the three-year-old girl to the toilet and raped her.
“The victim’s mother, who heard the daughter crying, rushed to the scene and met the accused raping the little girl,’’ the prosecutor said. The offence contravened Sections 137 and 166(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Tajudeen Elias, ordered that the accused should be remanded in Kirikiri Prison. Elias adjourned the case till Nov. 11, for the Directorate of Public Prosecution’s legal advice.