Bus driver arraigned for raping 78-year-old woman

The suspect, Jelili Lawal, was arraigned on one count charge of rape.

Prosecuting officer, Inspector Raphael Donny, told the court that the offence was committed around 8pm on January 1, 2019, at Oloti village, off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja.

He added that the offence contravenes Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).

While parading the suspect after his arrest, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, revealed that the septuagenarian never suspected Lawal's intentions after he offered to give her a lift.

He said, "On Tuesday, January 1, 2019, around 8 pm, a woman, 78, met one Jelili Lawal, 41, a bus driver, at Maryland and told him that she had missed her way and did not know how to get to her house in Ketu.

"Jelili Lawal offered to help her. The woman was delighted and she boarded the bus, unknown to her that Lawal had other intentions.

"The suspect drove the victim to a location in Oloti village, off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, and raped her without regard to her age. While the suspect was at it, the woman let out a cry that attracted someone in the neighbourhood, who quickly called the police and directed them to the location where the cry emanated from.

"That was how the police caught the suspect in the act and rescued the old woman, who was already bleeding from her private parts as a result of the assault on her dignity."

The chief magistrate, Mrs. B. O. Osunsanmi, in her ruling, ordered that the suspect be remanded in the Kirikiri Prison pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She adjourned the case till February 18, 2019, for further hearing.