Herdsmen rob Ogun farmer, rape 16-year-old daughter

Daud Olatunji, Abeokuta

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested two herdsmen for invading a farm in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state, allegedly stealing the sum of N140,000 and gang-raping the 16-year-old daughter of the farmer.

The suspects, Abu Adamu and Muhammadu Aliyu, were arrested last Wednesday by policemen from the Ewekoro Divisional Headquarters.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

Oyeyemi said the suspects invaded a farm settlement at Afowowa Gbelu, dispossessed one Amina Okeshola of N140,000 and gang-raped her 16-year-old daughter on the cassava plantation.

They were arrested for robbery and rape after a distress call was received by the police at the Ewekoro Divisional Headquarters around 1am.

According to Oyeyemi, the police were alerted that armed men suspected to be herdsmen had invaded a farm settlement at Afowowa Gbelu village in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state and were attacking a family living in the farm settlement.

The PPRO added, “The suspects ransacked the house of one Aminat Okeshola, dispossessed the family of the sum of N140,000, after which they took the 16-year-old daughter of the family to the cassava plantation, where they took turns to forcefully have sex with her.

“On the strength of the distress call, policemen from the Ewekoro Division swiftly moved to the scene, combed the entire area and succeeded in arresting two of the suspects, who were hiding in the nearby bush on sighting the policemen, while the third one escaped.

“The two arrested suspects were immediately identified by the victims.”

The PPRO explained that preliminary investigation revealed that the herdsmen had always been passing through the farm settlement with their cattle in the daytime before they came back to strike on the day of the incident.

Oyeyemi said the state Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, had ordered a manhunt for the fleeing member of the gang.

He also directed the immediate transfer of the case to the state Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation and prosecution.

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