The Chief Imam of a mosque in Babasanya-Araka Area of Ede, Osun State, simply identified as Kadiri, has confessed to raping an eight-year-old girl (name withheld) after sending her to buy groundnuts.
An eyewitness, Oladele Oluwatosin, a postgraduate student of Redeemer’s University, Ede, during the protest told the Nation said a noise was heard which quickly attracted the resident.
“I was around the area with my colleagues of Group II for the DevComm campaign when the incident happened. We suddenly heard noise at the junction of Babasanya which attracted residents of the area.
“The mother of the girl caught the Chief Imam in a mosque around the area. The mother said her daughter was crying and she was bleeding from her private part,” she said.
The nation said further that a video was obtained which showed the cleric admitted to the act that he had a canal knowledge of the girl after he sent her on an errand.
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He said: “We lived together in the compound, I know her father and mother. I sent her to help me buy groundnuts and when she returned I defiled her.”
The incident, which occurred around 12 noon on Saturday, sparked protests among residents of the area.
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The Nation said further that the girl’s mother had been looking for her daughter who left home and failed to return on time.
Meanwhile, the Osun state police spokesperson Abiodun Ojelabi confirmed the incident.
