News Update
A 20-year-old man named Akeem Sumonu has been taken into custody by the Ogun State Police Command on suspicion of raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl in the Olodo Community of Odeda Local Government Area, Ogun State.
It was gathered from the Ogun State Police Command on Wednesday that the suspect was arrested on Tuesday by operatives stationed at the community’s security post.
According to the survivor’s mother, Christiana, who spoke to the police, the suspect allegedly raped and physically assaulted her daughter in October 2024 before threatening to keep the incident a secret.
A police source, the adolescent kept the incident a secret until her mother observed odd changes in her behavior and the injuries she had acquired during the claimed assault because of the terror the suspect had induced in her.
“The victim concealed the incident from her parents until the complainant noticed unusual signs on her body,” stated Chief Superintendent Omolola Odutola, a spokesman for the state police.
“She then confided in her mother, revealing that the suspect had forcibly raped her, causing her to lose her virginity, and had threatened her not to tell anyone.”
After his arrest by police operatives in the community, the suspect reportedly confessed to violently assaulting the girl and threatening her into silence.
Odutola noted that the situation worsened when the medical report on the survivor revealed she was eight weeks pregnant, with the pregnancy suspected to be a result of the crime.
“The suspect has been arrested and detained. Further investigation will take place once the case is transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department,” Odutola added.
PUNCH Metro reported a similar incident in March 2024, where a pastor named Adeleye Dada was accused of raping and impregnating the teenage daughter of one of his church members in the Gasline area of Ifo Local Government Area in the state.
The suspect reportedly took the girl to another church, separate from his, where he told the pastor that the girl was participating in a prayer that required her to remain in the church.
