An Investigative Police Officer (IPO) named ASP Babatunde Ashifat shared with the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court the account of how Jelili Lawal allegedly caused the death of a 78-year-old woman through rape in Lagos State.

During the resumption of the rape trial on Tuesday, Ashifat, led in evidence by Lagos State counsel Ms. Bukola Okeowo, recounted that he took charge of the case on January 2, 2019. According to him, two women who witnessed the defendant sexually assaulting the septuagenarian had alerted a patrolling policeman.

Ashifat disclosed that the elderly woman had sought assistance from the defendant on January 1, 2019, at the Maryland Bus Stop in Lagos State, asking him to help her find her residence. Tragically, the defendant attacked the victim in an unfinished building, leading to her demise from severe bleeding from the anus and vagina.

He explained, “The defendant gave her N500, and they boarded the same bus. On reaching a bus stop, the defendant instructed her to alight, took her to an incomplete building in a wooded area, assaulted and raped her at night. The victim cried for help, attracting the attention of two ladies who caught the defendant in the act. They assisted the woman by alerting the patrolling policeman."

“The victim was bleeding from her anus and vagina, and I issued a medical form for her to be taken to the Mirabel Medical Centre. The examining medical doctor confirmed forceful penetration into her vagina. I later learned that the victim succumbed to the bleeding.”

The IPO further mentioned that after receiving the report, he recorded statements from both the victim and the defendant and visited the crime scene. Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the case until October 27 for the trial to resume.