Tiler Denies Defiling Three-Year-Old Girl, Alleges Frame-Up

A tiler, Isaac Igbogbo, on Tuesday, denied defiling a three-year-old girl in the Oshodi area of Lagos State.

Igbogbo, who was arraigned before Justice A.O. Soladoye of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, said the allegation was made by the minor’s mother a month after they had a quarrel in the neighbourhood.

He said he got to know the alleged victim because he used to patronise her mother’s store and usually saw the child playing in the company of her peers.

“Her mother confronted me and said when she was bathing her, she discovered that she was in pain. She said her daughter accused me of touching her private parts. When people came to settle the matter, the mother threatened to kill me,” he added.

The defendant said when he approached a police station to report the allegation levelled against him by the girl’s mother, he was thrown into a cell.

He said, “They didn’t allow me to report my case. They just put me inside a cell.”

During cross-examination, Igbogbo was reminded by the prosecuting counsel, Abimbola Abolade, that the victim accused him of luring her to the back of a car and made her touch his private parts.

Abolade also recalled that another minor in the area told the court that he made her cry after he touched her on the buttocks.

In response, Igbogbo denied the allegations, which he described as false.

The case was adjourned till November 16, 2022, for further hearing.