The Osun State Police Command has arrested an Imam in Babasanya, Araka community, Ede, Osun State, for allegedly raping his neighbor’s 8-year-old daughter.
Commotion followed when the victim’s mother raised an alarm after catching the Imam, simply identified as Abdulkareem Kadiri, in the act on Saturday afternoon.
The victim’s mother was disturbed, having sent the girl on an errand for which she stayed longer than expected, so she decided to search for her.
Osun Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the incident.
“He is in our custody already. But we want the Division to investigate before the matter is transferred to SCID. That is all that is available for now,” Ojelabi said.
A resident in the area informed our contact that the mother’s alarm attracted people to the area as she held onto the elderly suspect.
“She actually caught the man named Abdulkareem Kadiri, an Imam in a mosque around the area. The mother said her daughter was crying and was bleeding from her private part,” she said.
She added that: “Some persons attempted to let the suspect get away, but angry residents resisted it. The victim was taken to Babasanya Hospital for appropriate medical test.
“Because of the tension around the hospital, operatives of Amotekun were invited to arrest the suspect before he was later handed over to the police at ‘B’ Division, Ede.”
A video of the Imam surfaced on social media later showing him confessing at the police station that he raped the girl.
“I know her parents, we lived in the same compound. I sent her to help me buy groundnuts and when she returned I defiled her,” he said.
