A 60-year-old trailer driver, Lawal Bankole, was weekend, almost lynched by a security guard, Abdullahi Muhammed, at Iya Abiodun area, Ifo, Ogun State, after he was caught having sex with the latter’s wife, Tope, on their matrimonial bed.

The 45-year-old embattled man, an indigene of Kano State, said Bankole took advantage of his wife’s unstable mental condition to rape her.

According to the Punch, Muhammed had returned from a trip to Lagos Island only to meet Bankole on top of his wife.

Narrating the incident, Muhammed said, “I had returned from my trip when I met him on top of my wife. I had a cutlass and a knife at home and I wanted to kill him. But I had a rethink and I decided to hold him.

“But he tore my clothes and bit me. He fought me and took hold of the cutlass; I held him. We were fighting when people separated us and he escaped.

“However, I held on to his trousers, which contained his driving licence, some cash, phones and ATM cards. I used the items as my evidence. I reported the matter at the Ifo Police Division after which he was arrested.

“My wife has mental problem, which started during her first marriage. She had a surgery that time, but there was a complication which led to the problem. Her ex-husband rejected her, saying he could not live with a mentally-ill person.

“Her family had taken her to different prayer houses for solution to no avail before I came into the picture. I assisted them with money and they decided to hand her over to me in marriage.

“I made sure she stayed indoors always. All she does is to cook and wash my clothes. However, once in a month, she goes to visit her mother and returns. We have a child together, who is about two years old. Her condition is improving, but she is not totally sound yet.”

Reports say the two men could have killed each other but for the intervention of residents who separated them.

The wife, 24-year-old Tope, said the suspect gave her N200, adding that she never met the man until the day he had canal knowledge of her.

Tope, an indigene of Osun State, said, “I have never met the man before. That day, he entered our compound and asked if I wanted to eat and I said yes. He gave me N200 and went away.

“He later returned and asked me to undress and I did. He put me on the bed and had sex with me. I knew he wasn’t my husband, but I couldn’t shout or do anything. Then my husband entered and caught him.

“The two men started fighting. I ran downstairs to call people. Our neighbours separated them.”

Confirming the incident and arrest, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said, “The police have arrested the man and he has confessed to the crime.

“He took advantage of the woman’s mental condition and will be charged to court soon,” the PPRO stated.