A 25-year-old pastor has been accused of drugging and raping a schoolgirl he met on social media.
The victim, Lateefat, was given a phone by her brother which gave her access to social media and by extension, the molester.
According to the Punch, the incident happened in the Somolu area of Lagos and the victim was only saved after her brother intervened.
The brother narrated the story saying: “She went to school on Monday and did not return home. On Tuesday, her mother became worried and called me to ask if I knew her whereabouts. That was because her school was near my house.
“When I got to her school, I did not see her and I reported back to her mother that she was also not in school. The mother and I went to meet her teacher to ask for her whereabouts.
“The teacher called some of her friends, who seemed to know her movements. They took us to the man’s shop, but she was not there. They suggested we go to the man’s house.
“We hid somewhere, while her friends went to check. They reported back that they found her sandals at the man’s apartment. I am a scout member. So, with my training, I barged in and got the man arrested.
“We saw Lateefat on the bed; she could not stand. We took her to a hospital and handed the man over to the police,”
According to the Punch, a Police source also narrated how her access to the internet brought her in contact with her rapist
“Actually, the girl’s brother gave her a mobile phone sometime in January and she opened a Facebook account. That was how she accepted the friendship request of the suspect in February and they started chatting.
“After her mother collected the phone from her, the man gave one of Lateefat’s friends his telephone number and succeeded in luring her and the friends to his shop. He bought drinks for them that day.
“The girl in her statement said he later invited Lateefat to his house. The first time she went, he did not do anything to her. It was the second time that he abducted her; she was in her school uniform that day.
“Despite the fact that the girl was menstruating, he forcefully made love to her after drugging her drink.
“She woke up at 1:00 am after midnight. That morning again, he raped her. When the girl tried to shout, he covered her mouth. The girl said all her pleas fell on deaf ears,”
The police are investigating the substance put in her drink and they also confirmed that part of the ruse used by the rapist was to send prayers to the girl.