Outrage over sexual assault of 12-year-old girl in Ondo

• Police trail suspect to Kebbi
Igbokoda community, headquarters of Ilaje Local Council of Ondo State, has been engulfed in tension, following sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl by a middle-aged man.

The suspect lured the primary school pupil into an uncompleted building, while hawking and forcefully defied her.

According to sources, the suspect, who hailed from Kebbi, went into hiding and later travelled out of the state to Kebbi, where he was trailed by detectives.

Speaking on the development, the mother of the victim, who gave her name as Joy, explained that the incident happened on May 19, 2023.

While demanding justice for her daughter, she said: “When my daughter arrived from school on the fateful day, she told me to allow her to hawk because we needed some money for her school fees.

“She returned home after an hour to eat and later left home to hawk again. When it was getting late, I told one of my sisters who was going out to tell her to return home as it was getting late in the evening.

“Few minutes before 7:00p.m., she came back home, but immediately I saw her, I knew something was wrong because she looked tired and exhausted. While she was trying to explain to me what happened to her she fainted but was revived at the hospital.

“She explained how the man forcefully abused her, and we set out to apprehend the man and hand him to the police, but we were surprised to learn that he had run away to Kebbi State.

“We reported the incident to the police, who told us that they had commenced a manhunt on the suspect and assured us that he will be made to face the wrath of the law.”

Confirming the incident, the police spokesperson in the state, Olufumilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said the Command had launched a manhunt on the suspect over the crime and had travelled to Kebbi to arrest him.