A 32-year-old man, Chimezie Nwosu, has been arraigned in an Apapa Magistrate’s Court for allegedly raping a 10-year-old pupil.
Nwosu was arraigned on Wednesday on one count of rape before a magistrate, Mrs. A.O. Adegbite.
It was learnt that the victim, Deborah (pseudonym) and Nwosu lived in the same compound on Marwa Road, Satellite Town, Lagos State.
The girl was reportedly returning from school around 2pm on June 8 when Nwosu called her to his room on the pretext of sending her on an errand. But he shut the door instead.
He was said to have forcefully removed her clothes and raped her while she cried for help.
It was learnt that neighbours, who heard the cry, alerted Deborah’s elder brother.
Our correspondent learnt they all rushed to Nwosu’s apartment to rescue the girl while the case was reported at the Satellite Police Division.
In her statement to the police, Deborah reportedly said, “I just stepped into the compound on the way from school that day when Mr. Chimezie (Nwosu) called me. He said he wanted me to help him to buy something and I entered his room.
“He shut the door and removed my clothes and slept on me. He told me to stop shouting and put his thing (manhood) in my bumbum.”
However, Nwosu, who hails from Umuovum village in the Oweri-North Local Government Area, Imo State, denied raping the girl, saying the allegation was an attempt to blackmail him.
A police prosecutor, Francisca Job, who brought the defendant before the court, said the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The charge read, “That you, Chimezie Nwosu, on June 8, 2016, at about 2pm on Marwa Road, Satellite Town, Lagos, in the Apapa Magisterial District, did unlawfully have sexual intercourse with a 10-year-old girl without her consent, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty and elected summary trial.
The magistrate, Adegbite, granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
While adjourning the case till August 11, 2016, Adegbite added that the sureties must be residents of Lagos State and must tender evidence of tax payments to the prosecutor for verification.