Sexual predator attempts suicide after arrest over assault on minor

The Ondo State Police Command says it has arrested one Bolaji Oluwasetire over the alleged indecent assault of a six-year-old girl in Osoro Area of Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.

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The girl’s father, Kolawole Joseph, reported at the Ore police Division on Wednesday that the suspect was caught sexually abusing his daughter.

He reported that the suspect was caught forcing the minor to rub his genitals with her hands.

Acting swiftly on the report, detectives from the Gender Desk Office, Ore Police Divisional Headquarters, were deployed to the scene, where the suspect was arrested and interrogated.

“While in custody, however, the suspect suddenly began to vomit a greenish substance,” a statement on Sunday by Police Spokesman, Olayinka Ayanlade, said.

“Upon questioning, he confessed to having ingested herbicide in a desperate attempt to escape justice for his shameful and criminal conduct.”

According to the police spokesperson, the suspect was immediately rushed to the General Hospital, Ore, where he received medical treatment under close monitoring.

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Mr Ayanlade said the case is being pursued with the utmost seriousness.

“The minor victim is safe, and appropriate support services are being provided to her family.

“Investigation is ongoing, and the suspect will face the full weight of the law upon recovery,” he said.

Reiterating the command’s zero tolerance for sexual and gender-based violence, the Ondo State Commissioner, Adebowale Lawal, said no offender will escape justice under his watch.

He urged parents, guardians, and community leaders to remain vigilant and promptly report any suspected case of abuse, no matter how seemingly minor.

“Let it be clearly stated that Ondo State will never be a safe haven for sexual predators.

“Perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence will be hunted down, arrested, and decisively prosecuted. No hiding place for offenders,” the CP stated.

The development comes days after a cleric was arrested in Ebonyi State for sexually abusing a girl, Euphemia Ede, who is suffering from sickle cell disease, in the guise of imparting healing.

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PREMIUM TIMES reported that the cleric, Samuel Onyeagoziri, is the general overseer of Champions of the Truth Church in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

Ms Ede, while appearing as a guest in a podcast recently, claimed the cleric had been sleeping with her since 2021 while she was still a secondary school student.