A 54-year-old man, Gbenga Adebayo, has been remanded in prison custody by a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Capital, for allegedly abducting and defiling 11 -year old Joke Aliu (not real name).

It was gathered that Adebayo lured the girl to follow him to his aged mother’s place in Usi-Ekiti , some 60 kilometres away from Ado-Ekiti, and camped her there for three weeks. He was allegedly visiting her there regularly and sleeping with her.

Meanwhile, in Ado-Ekiti, the same Adebayo was pretending to join the search team for the girl, who were going from one neighbourhood to another to look for her.

According to the girl, Adebayo promised to rescue her from her school teacher with whom she was staying in their apartment in Adebayo area of Ado-Ekiti, on the grounds that the teacher was harsh on her.

“Gbenga Adebayo is my neighbour. He used to ask me to buy things for him. One day he approached me, saying he wanted to help me because my teacher was harsh on me. He said he would rescue me from my teacher and take good care of me. He then took me to his mother’s place in Usi-Ekiti.
” Whenever he comes there, he used to sleep with me. He has done this for 10 times now.

“I was at his mother’s place for three weeks after which I refused to sleep with him again and because of that, he decided to take me to my aunt’s place in Akure. He told my aunt that he found me in his mother’s place in Ushi and decided to help me by taking me to her. He is the first man in my life, ” the girl said.

Speaking on the development, the girl’s other aunt in Ado-Ekiti, Mrs. Theresa Agboola, who disclosed that she (victim) is an orphan, having lost both her parents some years ago, said: “The girl was staying with her female school teacher (name withheld) who lives in a rented apartment behind Olagold, opposite Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, (EKSUTH) in Adebayo area.

”About a month ago, June 5 precisely, the girl’s teacher had called to inform me that she was missing and that the whole occupants in the house, including the suspect, Gbenga Adebayo, were searching for her. That continued till June 29, when my sister from Akure called to tell me that the girl was brought to her by a man whom she identified as the same Gbenga Adebayo. It was then we suspected a foul play.

” We reasoned that if indeed Adebayo was sincere, he cannot be the same man who was part of the search team for the girl for three weeks here in Ado-Ekiti and also be the one who would now take her to my sister’s place in Akure after finding her. We then reported the case to the police who promptly arrested Adebayo and charged him to court. Last Friday, the magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti has remanded him in prison. We also gathered that he has been sleeping with the girl before eventually taking her to his mother, ” she alleged.

Confirming the Development, Ekiti State Police Public Relations Offcer, Alberto Adeyemi, said the suspect has been charged to court with charges of defilement