A bricklayer based in Iwo, Osun State, Ismail Ibrahim and three others were on Thursday paraded by the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for allegedly raping two minors.
The other suspects paraded for the same office alongside the 30-year-old Ibrahim are: Sadiq Opeyemi (30), Afeez Olalekan (26) and Abdulahi Garba (33).
The victims, both primary school pupils, were said to be living with their aged grandparents, who could no longer fend for them.
Giving further details about the crime committed by the suspects, the Osun NSCDC State Commandant, Mr. Igbalawole Sotiyo, said the suspects saw the victims (names withheld) wandering near the Oluwo of Iwo’s palace, seeking alms and lured them with the sum of N500 to where they had carnal knowledge of them.
“On December 3, 2024, our divisional office in Iwo, Osun State, reported a case involving four men who allegedly defiled two minors. A discreet investigation revealed that Sadiq Opeyemi (30), Afeez Olalekan (26), Ismail Ibrahim (30), and Abdulahi Garba (33) defiled two 13-year-old girl and a 12-year old girl
The perpetrators allegedly lured the girls with N500 and had sexual relations with them on multiple occasions.
“The suspects have confessed to the crime. It’s worth noting that the victims live with their grandparents and according to the victims they are not well taken care of, which made them take to the street begging for alms.”
Sotiyo also said operatives of the command acting on intelligence, stormed an illegal mining site in Igun-Ijesa, adding that those on the site fled upon siting the approaching vehicle of the NSCDC.
He however said seven pumping machines, a rubber gud and a digger were recovered from the site, noting that the NSCDC would not tolerate illegal mining operations as such an act constituted economic sabotage.
Responding to questions from journalists, Ibrahim, who said the victim consented to the act, said the girl used to beg him for money since she had not been fed well by her aged guardian.
The two victims, in separate interviews, said they fled from home because of hunger and pleaded not to be returned to their guardians since they could no longer cater for them.
Assuring members of the public that the perpetrators would face the full wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent to others with similar intentions, Sotiyo further charged parents and guardians to ensure they provide basic needs for their children and wards to protect them from molestation.
