Kwara prosecutes rapist of seven-year-old pupil

The Kwara State government has taken over a case of a primary school teacher who defiled his seven-year-old pupil.

The case, according to the commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Afolasade Opeyemi Oluwakemi could have been thwarted by the police but for her timely intervention.

Afolasade, at the quarterly inter-ministerial press briefing, on Tuesday, at the ministry of finance, explained that the case has been referred to the 21-member committee set up by the governor for such and related cases for action.

According to her, the minor (names withheld,) was last week sexually molested by her class teacher under unspecified pretext.

She alleged that men of the state police command had initially compromised the case, frustrating the parents of the victim before her office got wind of the issue.

She said: “before we knew of the case of a seven-year-old primary school pupil last week, the policemen where it was reported manipulated the case, they told the parents that the case had been taken to court and that the court had adjourned.

“The parents did not initially come to our ministry to complain, it was when it dawned on them that they had been played by the police that they were advised. It was then that we waded into the matter and we succeeded in referring the case to the 21-member committee comprising of religious leaders and traditional rulers among others for pursuit,” she stated.

Also reeling out the achievements of his ministry in the last five months, the commissioner for Energy, AbdulAzeez Kola AbdulGaniyu said the energised 12 communities as well as connected several villages to the national grid.

He also disclosed that the government, through his ministry, in the last five months distributed many 33-kva and 11 kva transformers to some communities in and outside the state capital.

The commissioner for Youth Development, Shehu Ndanusa Usman said the state government has continued to subsidise meal in public primary schools as well as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC.)