Juliana Francis
A 63-year-old man, named Ayorinde, who said that Death was better than shame and tried to kill himself after the defilement of 14 years old girl, has been rescued.
The perpetrator was rescued by Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN), the Head of Rescue and case manager, Comrade Okanlawon Toyin and the VGN Officer.
According to the information, if not for the timely intervention of the VGN Officer and Toyin, Ayorinde would have died after ingesting an unknown substance.
Toyin said explained that immediately after he received the information about the defilement of the minor, he quickly dashed to the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, where the defilement took place. He added that the incident happened on the 30th of April 2023.
The activist said that immediately after he got wind of the incident, he set out for the estate, where the perpetrator resides with his family.
Toyin said: “I set out to the estate, and met the perpetrator’s wife who granted me access to the living room. She asked why I wanted to see her husband. I told her I was sent to come and invite him for questioning. After a while, the perpetrator came out and took an excuse to go to the toilet. Alas, the wife raised the alarm, shouting that he has drank a substance and vomited blood. We rushed to the toilet and brought him out.
“We asked him what he drank but he refused to tell. He came out to spit out and said Iku ya ju esin lo (Death is better than shame). We quickly gave him palm oil to drink so that it could neutralize the substance harm.
“After lots of rest and observations, we took him and the victim in the company of his son and wife to Ikorodu command. The Family Support Unit (FSU) heard from both sides and took us to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) who directed that the perpetrator should be taken to a general hospital for treatment and that the victim should go for checkup and treatment. The DPO, a Chief Superintendent of Police. A.R. Balogun has total Zero tolerance for crime, let alone defilement.
“The victim narrated how the perpetrator asked her to come and massage his arm which was hurting him. Thereafter, he started fondling her breasts. She rebuffed him but he pushed her and pinned her down in the bed. He then forced himself on her and had sex with her. Though he threatened her not to let anyone know what transpired, promising to care for her. He said that if she tells anyone of the incident, she would be dealt with. The defilement happened on April 30th.
“The victim narrated what happened without fear, to the gender officer and the office was very professional about it. The victim said the reason she spoke out was to stop the act from repeating.”
