…Perpetrator flees police custody, justice
…DPO should be held accountable not woman Inspector, says ACVPN
…Woman Inspector a sacrificial lamb -ACVPN
…Activist calls for independent probe of case by PSC, ICPC
Juliana Francis
A distraught mother simply identified as Funmi has revealed in chilling details how her husband molested her eight years old daughter for five years and how Personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Igando Division in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos State, bungled the case, leading to the alleged perpetrator, Mr Kingsley Agunbiade, fleeing police custody and disappearing into thin air.
The woman, who said that she had been traumatised since the discovery of the sexual abuse of her daughter by her 40-year-old husband, revealed that the sexual abuse had been going on since the child was eight years old and only discovered last year when the child was 12 years old.
She said: “The defilement of my child started when she was eight years old and continued until my discovering it when was 12 years old. Kingsley was sleeping with mother and daughter. He is a devil! When I found out, I was traumatised.”
Funmi decided to tell her story following a publication by Eagle Online on the 6th of June 2024.
The Eagleonline had reported how a woman Inspector, Opeyemi Amoo was arrested, detained and now being threatened with dismissal after Agunbiade who was released on bail, jumped bail.
However, our reporter gathered that it was Amoo’s former boss, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Igando Division, now retired Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Ekinde, who ordered that the perpetrator be released.
Indeed, concerned colleagues and friends of Amoo, insisted that Amoo should not be held responsible for the action of her DPO. Some of them said that Amoo was being used as the sacrificial lamb in a case that had turned messy.
The Advocates For Children And Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN), a non-profit organisation, said it has worked with Amoo for over 10 years and could vouch for her diligence and professionalism in handling defilement issues.
The NGO urged the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Dr Solomon Arase, to launch an investigation into the between Amoo, her DPO and two Deputy Commissioners of Police, who allegedly were targeting her.
A broken-hearted Funmi recounted how the case started, leading to her writing a series of petitions against Amoo, for allegedly granting Agunbiade bail in a defilement case, which was not a bailable offence under the Lagos State Government Law, facilitating the disappearance of the suspect and thereby truncating justice for the abused child.
Beginning Of The Love Story, One Happy Family
Funmi fell in love with Agunbiade and brought him into her home, along with his adult daughter.
According to her, Agunbiade was jobless, so she not only housed and fed him but also started taking care of his daughter. Meanwhile, her children started addressing Agunbiade as, “Daddy.”
Funmi and Agunbiade would later have a baby together.
Recalling how she discovered the betrayal, Funmi said that she got a maid for the household and then travelled to the US. She made it a point of duty to always check on the children, mostly through video calls.
She said: “ On the 26th of October 2023, I called and saw that my daughter was holding her stomach, she was groaning in pain. I asked her what was wrong, and she said that her stomach was hurting.
“I asked her what the maid prepared for them, what they ate, and she said beans. I have three kids, my husband, and his biological daughter. His daughter is 21 years old and they are all living in my house. Kingsley is jobless, so I fed him and his child and accommodated them.
“I asked my daughter if her daddy had given her medicine, and she said no, that her daddy promised to massage her waist. I started asking more probing questions, and my husband just jumped into the video, saying that it was not true, but my daughter screamed at him, that it was true, you said it! You said it!
“I immediately knew something was wrong. My children are very respectful, but there was my little girl, confronting her stepfather as if they were a couple. I immediately felt something was not right. I called a friend of mine who is a nurse and begged her to rush down to my house and check on my daughter.
“She would later call to tell me that my daughter’s private was wide open, she had been defiled. I didn’t know what to do, I was so traumatised!
“My daughter told the nurse that it was her stepdad that did it. I called a family friend who works with the Nigerian Air Force and told her what was happening in my family, she gave a contact to an NGO that was into Child Protection. The man who handled the case was one Mr Gabriel Oyediji. He took my daughter’s statement and then referred the case to Inspector Amoo at the Igando Police Station.”
Funmi said that the abuse of her daughter started right under her nose, and she was not aware. She said at night, Agunbiade would leave their bed, and go to her daughter’s room to violate her.
“He uses a cane and knife to threaten her. Sometimes he would tell her that if she told her mummy, he would catch her when she was going to school and would kill her and that nobody would know. He threatened and scared her!
“He made my daughter believe that what he was doing to her was normal and alright. I had to educate my daughter, telling her that it was wrong. Sometimes he would send the maid on useless errands to be alone with my daughter and he would continue with his abuse of her.
“I have been filled with guilt. My daughter cries always and my 18-year-old son has left the house, blaming me for what happened to his sister. My son said that I was the one that brought that bastard into our home to destroy his younger sister.”
Stockpiling Evidence Against Alleged Perpetrator
Funmi is eagerly praying and waiting for the arrest of her fleeing husband, knowing that his arrest would be the likely time her daughter would get justice.
According to her, after the crime was discovered, Agunbiade, asking for clemency, sent a message.
Our reporter got the message, herein shared;
He said: “Good evening to you my world. I know I’m the last person you would want to communicate with at this time, but please hear me out. This is me sincerely sorry for everything. You are hurting deeply and I regret being the reason for that. I’m ready to do whatever you need me to make things right. I beg you in God’s name to have mercy on me. I owe my life to you and will live the rest of it in gratitude for your kindness.
“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness but because of God, because of Isabel and because of everything we sacrificed for our love, please find a place in your heart to forgive me. I’m ready to come back to you and live the rest of my life for you. I want to make things right if given the chance. Please let’s settle this and going forward, I will live with the consciousness of never hurting you again. Please remember all we went through together.
“Spending the rest of my days on earth in detention will be very traumatic for me, you, Isabel and both families. The world will use it against you, against our child and against our families. Please have mercy on me and let me live the rest of my life serving you. Please find just a little spot in your heart to show me mercy. I’m sincerely sorry please.”
In a recorded phone call which was not too clear, Agunbiade was heard interacting with Funmi, begging thus. This is partly rehashed herein: “If I have done anything to you, please forgive me. I have suffered a lot. I’ve been disgraced. Please forgive me. I have wronged you; I’ve made you feel bad…I have considered many options, but the embarrassment has become too much. I have been receiving calls from everywhere…”
Responding to his pleas, Funmi broke down weeping, asking him why he stabbed her in the heart and chose to tamper with her little girl, her blood. She reminded him that she had done everything for him and given him everything.
In another conversation, the suspect’s brother, who was the surety in the case, was heard telling Funmi that his brother, Agunbiade had “done it only in 2019” with the child and had immediately repented. He urged Funmi to forgive Agunbiade so that she could get her healing.
Part of his words: “He did it and repented of it. He has changed. What happened has happened. I scolded and cautioned him. It happened in 2019 just as your daughter said. Let’s not flog the matter further. He practically confirmed he did it. Healing can come by forgetting about it. Let it go.”
How The Defilement Case Was Bungled By Police
Funmi said that all she wanted was for her daughter to get justice and she made this known to all and sundry.
Amoo, who is part of the Family Support Unit Desk at the station, was the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) of the case.
Funmi recalled that she repeatedly interacted with Amoo on the phone, urging her to arrest Agunbiade and ensure he and his daughter were removed from her house for the sanity of her defiled daughter.
She explained that she footed the bill for the transportation of the Police to arrest Agunbiade through Mr Gabriel.
Funmi said that when her daughter got to the station, Amoo asked her questions, but decided to write the statement herself, even though her daughter, who was in junior class could write.
Funmi further narrated: “When my daughter was asked to go to General Hospital for medical examination, Amoo called and told me that I should tell my daughter to tell hospital people that the perpetrator ran away, but my son told them the truth at the hospital. It was the stepdad that did it and he was at home.
“Kingsley was finally arrested and on the way to the station, he called a lawyer. It was the lawyer who talked Amoo into releasing a paedophile! Kingsley claimed he was sick and just like that he was released on bail.
“Amoo should not have granted bail; she should have charged him to court. On the Monday that she was supposed to take him to court, she started calling me, she said that the court did not sit, but I later discovered that the court sat.
“I know that under the Lagos State Government Law, defilement is not a bailable offence. She refused to charge him to court! Even if he was sick, she could have taken him to the hospital in handcuffs and returned him to the station after treatment.
“Amoo released him to the surety who is his brother, without knowing the address of the surety or asking for a surety with a landed property. When I heard that he was granted bail, I was devastated. Why is it difficult to get justice in Nigeria?”
Funmi returned to Nigeria on the 22nd of February 2024 after five months overseas and wrote a petition against Amoo and also demanded justice for her daughter.
The petition was sent to the Lagos State Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (SCIID) Panti, Yaba.
“At Panti, Amoo was asked why she released the perpetrator, but she kept quiet. She was instructed to go and locate the surety,” said Funmi.
Funmi alleged that Amoo changed the charge of the case from defilement to alleged defilement.
She recollected that the surety, who is Agunbiade’s brother, was charged to court on the 7th of March 2024 four months after the release of the suspect on bail.
She stated: “On the Monday that Amoo was supposed to charge Kingsley in court, she called me countless times, saying that I should come to the police station, or she would release the suspect. She released him that same Monday!
“I wrote another petition to Provost Office; Abuja. Amoo was sent three signals before she responded. It was at Abuja that senior police officers saw the lapses. She started crying and begging, saying that it was the DPO who released the suspect. But it was her signature we saw on the bail bond and that of the DPO.
“She was asked to call the surety and put the phone speaker on, you should have seen the way he shouted at her, warning her never to call his phone line anymore. The surety was charged to court but granted bail and released instantly.”
Funmi said that since Agunbiade’s disappearing act, police are finding it difficult to track him. It is believed that he has removed his SIM from his phone.
Child Protection NGO Calls For Independent Probe Of Case By PSC, ICPC
The Co-founder of the ACVPN, Mr Ebenezer M. Omejalile, while praising woman Inspector Amoo for being an outstanding and selfless officer, calls for an independent investigation by the Police Service Commission (PSC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission into this ongoing drama at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Omejalile also brought new insights into the unfolding drama, alleging that Amoo was being targeted because she had the lowest rank among those involved in the shoddy investigation that led to the fleeing of Agunbiade.
According to him, if anyone should be arrested, detained, and tried, it should be Amoo’s former DPO, who granted bail to the suspect.
He also revealed that on the day that Agunbiade was granted bail, Amoo was not even on the ground.
He added: “Amoo has not committed any sacrilege! I have worked with her for several years, she’s diligent and professional. She doesn’t waste time in charging Gender-based violence cases to court.
“I heard the DPO was invited, but when he asked the officers in Abuja if they would pay for his flight, they left him alone and continued to target Amoo because she is perceived as a junior officer without a voice.
“There is no way that Amoo can grant bail without the authorisation of the DPO. The DPO has not denied it, he said repeatedly that he was the one who ordered the release of the suspect, but these two DCPs in Abuja continued to target Amoo for unknown reasons.
“The DPO said that he gave administrative bail to the alleged perpetrator because he didn’t want him to die in his custody since he was sick. But the DPO shouldn’t have done that in a defilement case!
“DCP Okafor of Provost Office gave Amoo seven months to track and arrest the fleeing Agunbiade following intervention from Lagos State Commissioner of Police and his Public Relations Officer (PPRO).
“She went to his village and found that the family home was deserted, and she went to his Lagos home, but he was not there. In less than two weeks after the provost gave Amoo the seven-month ultimatum, before the expiration of the seven months, Provost Okafor recalled Amoo, insisting that she had to produce the perpetrator immediately.”
Just like Funmi, Omejalile said that tracking Agunbiade’s phone to arrest him has been difficult because he last used his phone in March.
He said that Agunbiade’s surety was supposed to be one way to get him, but that route had gone cold. Rather, the surety was charged to court, given bail of N2m, which he perfected and was released that same day at the court.
He said that the surety had also promised the court that he would get the fleeing Agunbiade.
“But when Amoo called the surety, he was very hostile to her, her shouted at her and told her never to call his line again because the case was already in court. The Police officers targeting Amoo also know that the matter was already in court.”
According to Omejalile, what Amoo was being subjected to was injustice, with everything being twisted to suit an unknown narrative.
He added that what Amoo was currently suffering could leave a psychological scar, which would affect her outlook on the Force and policing, leading to disgruntlement.
He further said: “Let me shock you; are you aware that Inspector Amoo was not even around on the day the suspect was released? But her name was on the bail bond because she’s the IPO of the case.
“She was not there! Someone even signed on her behalf. The complainant wanted the Police to keep the perpetrator in detention for a month, but Amoo told her DPO that it was wrong.
“Nobody is in support of defilement, in our organisation we tell everyone that forgiveness of defilement crime is a sin. But in handling cases of defilement, we should follow the right process.
“We heard that the Provost said that Amoo should have declared the perpetrator wanted, but at her rank, she has no power to do that. I was shocked that a DCP could be making such a remark. The DCP should have known better.
“We should begin to ask the interest of DCP Ewa in this case. Is the DCP also part of the provost department? They are threatening to take away Amoo’s meagre salary and we will not keep quiet. The Nigerian Bar Association is also involved in this matter.”