Man defiles 5-year-old girl after sending her mother to market

A 73-year-old man identified as Dukuye Ohofete, has been arrested for defiling a minor at Aswani, in the Isolo area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that on Wednesday, December 13, 2022, the victim, a 5-year-old girl, and her mother, who resided around Egan, in the Igando area of Lagos, visited the suspect at his residence on the State Development and Property Corporation Estate, Isolo.

The following day after they arrived at the septuagenarian’s residence, Ohofete sent the victim’s mother to the market around 4pm to buy foodstuffs.

Upon agreeing to run the errand for the suspect, the woman left her child in his care.

Ohofete’s neighbours, however, heard the child’s cry, and reported the matter at the Aswani Police Division.

Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin stated that following the reporting of the matter at the station, the septuagenarian was arrested and the victim sent to the Mirabel Centre, Lagos State, for examination and treatment.

He said, “Preliminary enquiry revealed that the victim’s mother had gone to visit the suspect on Wednesday, December 13, 2022, and was sent to the market as of the time of the act.”

This development came after Justice Serifat Solebo, who just bowed out of the Lagos State judiciary, blamed weak enforcement for the increase in the number of sex offenders in the country.

“What the government could do is what they’re doing. They have moved from 14 years penalty to life imprisonment. But are people deterred? I don’t think so. The essence of punishment is to deter likely offenders, but I don’t think the message is getting across. Why? To some extent, I cannot answer. So if that fails, I’m not saying the government has failed in its duty. They have not because that’s why they increased the penalty, but I think where the law failed should be our concern, why the law failed should be a concern. Why would it fail?” She wondered.

Solebo, therefore, called for strict enforcement of existing laws to protect members of the public.