Juliana Francis
A meeting convened by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, to review an ongoing child defilement case ended in disturbing revelations, conflicting accounts and fresh directives for a forensic interview and prosecution.
The session, which included representatives of the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) officials, legal counsels, and child rights activists, was convened to clarify why the case had stalled without being charged in court.
It will be recalled that the Commissioner of Police (CP) intervened following media reports alleging that officers from the Gender Unit interrogated a child who was allegedly sexually abused by a Lebanese national without the presence of parents, legal counsel, or child rights activists.
Additionally, the Gender Unit declined to detain the foreign national.
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During the CP’s interview, the suspect maintained his innocence, denying allegations that he defiled the survivor or other minors.
He claimed he only stepped in to support the child’s mother, who was introduced to him as a destitute woman abandoned by her husband with two children.
According to him, he has been paying school fees, accommodation and feeding for the children through his unregistered philanthropic NGO, which he runs with his wife.
He also stated that he regularly hosts children’s parties at his home where they swim and play, adding that staff are usually present to prepare meals, and that mothers, including the survivor’s mother, are always present.
He further claimed that one of the alleged victims is his own biological daughter, and another is her half-sister.
However, when questioned by the CP on why the case had not progressed to court, OPD welfare officer and the legal counsels blamed police delay, alleging police investigators at the Gender Unit were not following the child’s statements and at one point falsely claimed the suspect was out of the country.
The complainant also raised concerns about alleged interference at the Gender Unit, recounting how an officer, ASP Esther, took the child into a private office to record a video in which the child allegedly said her father forced her to lie about defilement. He refuted the claim as “a blatant lie.”
He further told the CP that the survivor’s mother had previously claimed a man named Matthew defiled the child in 2021, yet provided no phone number, address or family details, and made conflicting statements about reporting at various police stations.
Child rights advocate Mrs Ajayi of DOHS Cares Foundation, who was present, corroborated concerns about interference, stating that during a previous visit to the Gender Unit, she insisted the suspect be taken into custody but was allegedly attacked by the survivor’s mother, who declared nothing would happen to the suspect.
After reviewing submissions, the CP directed that the child undergo a forensic interview at Cece Yara Foundation next Thursday and ordered that the matter must move to court.
Stakeholders have vowed to monitor compliance and ensure that due process is followed as investigations continue.
