14-year-old Street-seller Raped By A 40-year Old Man
By Juliana Francis

Daily Sun
 

Upset 14-year old Anifat

A mild drama took place at the Sabo police station recently when a 14-year-old girl accused a 40-year-old man of raping her. The man initially denied the allegation but shocked detectives when he revealed that he and the girl had been having sex for more than two months.

The victim, identified as Anifat, explained that she was hawking groundnuts on August 26, in the Folagoro area of Lagos when the suspect, Lukmon, called her and said he wanted to buy four cups of groundnuts.

She said: "He called me to the front of his house. As he looked around and didn’t see anybody watching us, he covered my mouth with his hand and dragged me into his room. He shut the door and ordered me to undress.
I started crying. He held a bottle and said he would kill me if I shouted. I removed my dress. He slept with me. I started bleeding. He told me he used to rape all the girls that sell groundnuts. He said he would only allow me to leave if I promised not to tell anybody. I promised not to tell anybody."

Anifat came out of the house, crying. Some mechanics noticed her and tried to find out what was amiss. Anifat spilled the bean. According to her, one of the mechanics asked her to tell her father and make sure the case was reported to the police.

Asiwaju told Daily Sun that he did not know why Anifat was playing games with him. He said Anifat had earlier told him she was 16 years old before they started making love. He mentioned the name of Anifat’s school and the number of her house to buttress the fact that they were dating. He dared police to go to her compound and ask people if he and the girl were not in good terms.

He claimed the relationship had got to the level where they were discussing marriage. He said that Anifat’s denial of their hot romance was because, "one of the mechanics that saw her coming out of my house that day was also her boyfriend. It was that day I found out too. He is the one behind this police case."

Asiwaju, a father of two, said he did not see anything wrong in sleeping with a girl who was almost the age of his child. Asked how he would feel if she was his daughter, he said: "One man’s food is another man’s poison. There’s nothing new in this world. I’ll feel good that somebody is taking the responsibility of my daughter. Anifat has been coming to my house for long. Sometimes, after busines or when she needed money. The smallest amount I had given her is N200 and the largest is N500."

After the crime was committed, Asiwaju was alleged to have bolted, but he said: "I didn’t run! I went to Abuja for business." He added that he returned from Abuja to learn from his tenants that some policemen had been looking for him. He claimed to have visited about three police stations, namely, Alade, Bariga and Pedro to know where the policeman came from but had not succeeded. He claimed to have gone back home and placed his mobile number on his door in case the policeman returned as he was not at home.

Detectives claimed that Asiwaju was arrested on September 29, after he gave the policemen the fight of their lives. A source told Daily Sun that after knocking on his door several times and the suspect refusing to open, the crime busters entered through the window.
Asiwaju, however, denied attacking the policemen. According to him: "At about 7 pm, I heard footsteps. The people knocked but I didn’t reply. I thought they were area boys who usually came to break into people’s room to steal."

Asiwaju said he would be happy to hear that Anifat had been taken to the hospital for a test. He said the medical report would prove his innocence. He said: "I’ll be happy if I hear today that Anifat is pregnant for me," he revealed that he had separated from his wife, an European, who left with his two children and had later married an actress who left him because he couldn’t impregnate her. Already, Anifat’s father was said to have taken her to the hospital for a test that fateful day. He, however, told Daily Sun that he had not collected the result because of the death of a member of his family.