The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Babatunde Asifato, on Tuesday told the Ikeja Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court how a man named Jerili Lawal raped and murdered a woman in her 70s.
Mrs. Bukola Okeolowo, a witness led as key evidence by the prosecutor, told the court that she received the case for investigation on January 2, 2019.
Ms Asifat said the incident was reported at her station by a police officer on patrol.
The witness further stated in court that the police officer who reported the incident was alerted by two women who witnessed the defendant allegedly raping the victim.
He said that on January 1, 2019, the elderly woman was with the defendant in Maryland, Lagos, and begged him to help her return home.
He said: “The defendant gave her N500 and they boarded the same bus together.
“On getting to a bus stop, the defendant told her to come down at the Shoprite and took her to an uncompleted building in a bushy area, assaulted and raped her in the middle of the night.
“The victim was crying for help when two ladies heard her and caught the defendant in the act.
“They helped the woman by calling a patrol officer and the matter was reported at our station.”
Ashifat further narrated to the court that the alleged victim, who had a problem with her ears and was declared missing by her family, sustained injuries from the sexual assault.
He added that the alleged victim later died from the incident due to excessive bleeding.
“The victim was bleeding in her anus and vagina and I issued a medical form for her to be taken to Mirabel Medical Centre.
“The medical doctor who examined her confirmed that there was a forceful penetration on the vagina.
“I was later told that the victim died due to the bleeding she sustained as a result of the rape,” the witness said.
The policeman also said that after the report was made, he recorded the statements of the alleged victim and the defendant.
He said that he visited the scene of the crime, which was bushy and an abandoned place where no one was living.
Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the case until October 27, 2023, for continuation of trial.
