A five-year-old boy, who was allegedly raped by a 25-year-old man, Ganiu Amusa, in the Alakuko area of Lagos State, says the suspect dragged him into a bush before raping him.
The boy, Thompson (pseudonym), told PUNCH Metro on Thursday that Amusa also warned him not to disclose the incident to his mother when he got home.
PUNCH Metro had reported on Tuesday, January 5, that the Lagos State Police Command arrested Amusa on Hanson Street in the Alakuko area for allegedly raping the five-year-old.
It was reported that Amusa, who was arrested by the Alakuko Police Division, was transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, for further investigation.
The matter was said to have been reported to the police when Thompson began to complain about pains in his anus to his mother, identified only as Adenike, who thereafter raised the alarm.
When our correspondent visited Oremeji Close, where the boy’s family stayed, Thompson, who was still taking drugs, told our correspondent that he did not know the suspect before the incident.
Thompson, a Nursery 2 pupil, said he was returning with his sister from his mother’s shop when the suspect accosted him.
He said, “My sister and I were coming home from my mummy’s shop. My sister was riding a bicycle. She left me on the road. Later, I saw uncle Gani running after me. I had not met him before that day.
“The man said I should come. I did not answer him. He started to run after me. He then dragged me to a bush behind a house. He removed my shorts and put saliva in my anus. Then he removed his thing and put it into my anus. He covered my mouth with a cloth.
“There was no one in that bush. My sister was looking for me. My bum-bum was paining me. He warned me not to tell my mummy anything when I got home.”
A neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspect took advantage of the fact that the boy’s elder sister had wandered off to him to find his way.
She added that the bush where the suspect allegedly took the boy was a lonely area.
She said, “It was at about 2pm on December 17, 2015. The boy and his sister were returning from their mother’s shop in the Tollgate area. When they got to Hanson Street, the sister rode a bicycle and left the boy to find his way.
“When the boy came back home that afternoon, he was crying. We were anxious. Then we removed his clothes, and when we checked his anus, it was red. We first brought shea butter and applied it to the place.
“The bush is behind a storey-building. It is a lonely area. The boy was quickly rushed to a specialist hospital. He was given some antibiotic drugs, while tests were conducted on him. The suspect’s family members have been coming to beg the mother. They did not know what came over their son.”
Thomspon’s mother, Adenike, told our correspondent that the boy had almost completed treatment in the hospital, and he was getting better.
She said, “He has been taking his drugs. He is getting better.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, on Wednesday said the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigation was concluded on the matter.
“It is a case of sodomy. One Ganiu Amusa was arrested for allegedly raping a male infant of five years old through the anus. The case is still under investigation,” he added.
