But for the police intervention angry residents of Ibeshe in Ikorodu, Lagos would have yesterday lynched a suspected serial rapist identified as Badoo.
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The suspect was alleged to have raped some married women including Mrs. Grace Obinna Jubreel, 27, who he allegedly mauled in the presence of her 14-month-old baby.
But luck ran out against him yesterday when he was sighted by some members of the community who attacked him for his alleged atrocities.
The residents, who last Thursday, protested at the palace of the traditional ruler in Ibeshe, insisted that the suspect be handed over to them by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS)
The Nation gathered that the mob gathered at the monarch’s palace for several hours, demanding that Badoo be handed over to them.
According to a resident, Segun Ogundeji, it was yet to be ascertained if the suspect was the serial rapist.
He said: “Someone has been arrested, purportedly being the person. But with the situation on ground now, I can’t confirm he’s the person. He is at the palace of the Olu of Ibeshe. We’ve been trying to manage the crowd for over four hours now. They are insisting on lynching the person but we are pleading that justice should take its course. We are looking for a way to help the police to ferry him away so that investigations can be conducted. I have been liaising between the police and the palace, so I haven’t been able to speak with the suspect, to know whether he’s denying or accepting the allegations.”
Another resident, who gave his name as Adenike, alleged that the suspect usually inflicted knife injuries on his victims, adding that he uses a handkerchief to clean up his victims after raping them.
A police source told The Nation that the suspect has been moved to the station.
He said: “We have moved him from the palace to the station. The residents were really angry and wanted to kill him. But after several hours of dialogue, we were able to take the man to the station unhurt.”.
The police command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP) said the suspect would be arraigned today.
She said: “The suspect is in our custody. He was arrested over the weekend. The man is a serial rapist. They said he raped and killed a woman, but police don’t have the information about him being a killer yet. He would be charged to court on Monday (today).”
Residents relive Mrs Jubreel’s death
Oke-Ota Community Development Association Chairman, Mr Titilayo Ibraheem, yesterday relived the death of Mrs Jubreel and said it remains a mystery to them how the suspect managed to enter Mrs Jubreel’s room.
“I got a call from the overall chairman of the community, Pastor Adelakun around 1:45am on Sunday, June 5, that he learnt from the chief security that some thieves had broken into a house in my area.
“Immediately I stood up and woke my son who followed me. When I got to the gate, I saw the chief security who was struggling to enter the compound but I was able to help him open it from behind because I am the caretaker of the house. We opened and saw Mrs Grace naked on the ground inside the compound. That was when we detected the culprit carried her out of her room to the compound.
“Immediately, I started knocking on other tenants’ doors because none of them knew what had happened even while the helpless woman was groaning in pains. They were all still deep in sleep. I saw that a generator was on and the sound might have prevented them from hearing. I quickly put off the gen and hit the doors hard, they later came out .
“When I entered her room, I found blood both in the parlour and bedroom, there was an interlock and plier on the floor, I guess that was what she was attacked with. Everywhere was stained. The baby was also on the bed; her pant was stained with blood. It was such a pitiful scene. Together with the chief security and his colleagues, we rushed her to a hospital nearby but they quickly referred us to Ikorodu General Hospital where she was quickly attended to. They gave her blood. I left there with the overall chairman and we went to Ipakodo Police Station to report.”
He continued: “The chairman and the chief security were the ones that spoke with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), I wasn’t aware of what they discussed but I knew they attended to them. With the protest the women demonstrated yesterday, the DPO and Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) were all there to calm the women who were not happy with the situation. We have learnt of cases of rape before this one and people had suspected one man who they said after raping, he injures the women some times. An old woman I learnt is still in the hospital after being raped by the man.
“The king told the women that the current incident will be the first he is aware of. He has however assured us that effective measures would be taken. The landlord lives in Lagos but he has visited thrice since the incident occurred. Grace is like a daughter to me, she was close to my late wife who was also a teacher. The incident is shocking.”
I saw the suspect
The chief security officer, Mr Femi Oluwaloba, was the first to reach the victim but was unable to apprehend the attacker. He said he heard Mrs Jubreel’s screams from a distance.
He said: “I saw a man at Oke- Odo , Oke- Ota and towards the transformer close to the gate. I deployed two security men to those areas and I usually patrol with my bike. I guess the incident must have occurred between 12 and 1 because I heard the scream around 1:40 am.
“I quickly rode towards where I heard the scream and flashed my torch immediately I got to the front of the gate. All my thought was that it could be a fight between husband and wife. I shouted and flashed my torch when I saw the shadow of a man but immediately I flashed the torch, he bent and ran.
“I wanted to enter the compound but I was unable to open the gate. I quickly alerted the other security manning other areas to quickly show up. I was struggling to enter but I was unable. I called the overall chairman to call the Oke Odo chairman that something was happening in his area.”
Oluwaloba continued: “So, he came around and was able to open the gate, we found the woman lying in a pool of blood naked and she was badly injured. The man’s palm print was visible on the wall with blood all over. I can’t imagine why he carried the woman out. It was a horrible scene and we rushed her to the hospital.”
“We have learnt of cases of rape in other community and it is obvious it is the culprit that must have come to Oke Odo. We don’t know his mission but the king together with the police have started taking necessary measures.”
The Nation gathered that the tenants have vacated the house out of fear. An expectant mother, Mrs Esther, a neighbour to the late Mrs Jubreel, recalled that she was a quiet and easygoing person.
“ I didn’t see her quarrel with anyone and I didn’t hear anything that day not until the chairman woke us up. My husband is planning to take me out of the house because we are afraid,” she said.
Mrs Jubreel’s remains were buried yesterday morning at her late mother’s residence in Maya, Ikorodu.
Ibeshe women urge police, monarch to take action
Oke- Ota women have pleaded with their town’s traditional ruler to save them from rapists and other criminals.
They said that Mrs. Jubreel’s case was not the first in the town.
One of the women who led the protest and identified herself as Mrs John, described Mrs Jubreel’s death as cruel.
She said: “We are all women and mothers. We know the pains we go through during child labour. Grace is like my daughter, an easygoing lady that respects everyone. I was so shocked to see how she was brutally dehumanised. What has she done to deserve such from a heartless man? We cannot take this anymore because we learnt an 87-year old woman was also raped by the same rapist around Abule. No one has been able to catch him red-handed. We want the king to help us take a quick action by providing effective security for all of us because we don’t think we are safe anymore. We want OPC and MOPOL. I believe they can do better.”
Another woman, Mrs Tijani, implored the traditional ruler to curb the incidents of rape by deploying community police to monitor each area.
“I am yet to get over this sorrowful incident, I pray the almighty give her husband the fortitude to bear the loss. It is so painful. The king has assured us that necessary measures would be put in place and since yesterday, we have been seeing police patrol vans coming into the community. Before 10, we have all entered our houses as we have been asked to be security conscious,” she said.
Another resident, Mrs Mustapha, described the incident as sad, stressing that the community wants justice to be done in earnest.
“We are not happy with this kind of incident and we don’t pray it recurs. The king announced yesterday during the protest that Oro curfew will be out to curtail the bad happenings in the community. He also promised that other necessary spiritual appeasements will be done to bring the culprit to book soonest. We have been asked to be conscious and we equally implore our police men to be more effective. “
