How I Was Sexually Assaulted by the Pastor I Went to for Help - Mother of Abducted Lagos Schoolgirl Speaks

 

 

The family of a certain six-year-old schoolgirl, Oluwajuwon Akinsanya, who was abducted in January by a group of unidentified gunmen at the Ojo Military Cantonment, Lagos state, have lamented that till date, nothing has been heard of the girl.

 

The victim’s mother, Yetunde, told The Punch she had visited more than 200 places seeking help, adding that she was sexually harassed in one of the religious houses she visited.

 

It was reported that the victim, a primary one pupil of Maryam Bliss International School, Ojo, was sleeping in the room with her parents in Block II, Flat 5, Engineer Quarters, when she was whisked away by the abductors.

 

Narrating the incident, Yetunde said, “On January 20, 2016, around 4.30am, while we were asleep, I suddenly heard a loud noise and I woke up. I checked the floor where my daughter normally slept, but I didn’t see her.

“Her younger brother, Enoch, was on the bed with my husband and me. I thought she went to the toilet to urinate, however, when I checked the place, I didn’t find her. It was when I got to the kitchen and met the door opened that I knew intruders had come in. They came in from the kitchen.

“They took my bag and removed all the money there. They also emptied my purse where I kept the recharge cards I sold to people. My husband’s phone was equally taken away,” the a trader said, stating that she reported the matter to the Ojo Barracks Military Police and the victim’s father was arrested.

 

She said the military authorities said her husband was the first suspect, but he was later released and three other suspects: Mercy Akere, Ayodeji Akinsanya and Segun Akinsanya were arrested.

 

The trio was alleged to have been accused by Yetunde of issuing threats against her family. Upon investigations, however, the military reportedly released the suspects, saying there was no evidence against them.

 

The mother of two said a member of her husband’s family took her to an orthodox church for help and according to her, the pastor after giving her a fake prophecy of her daughter’s whereabouts, sexually harassed her.

 

Yetunde said, “I complained to my in-law who took me to his church, and he called the pastor in my presence to challenge him.

“The pastor told him on the telephone that he only used a candle to rub my breasts because that was what my child sucked; and my private parts, because that was where she came out from. He said he did it so that the deliverance would be quicker,” she said. 

 

Meanwhile, a counsel in the Femi Falana Chamber, Mrs. Olakitan Boluagbaje, who was also looking into the case, said the chamber was preparing a petition to the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, for the case to be transferred from the military police.

 

Boluagbaje said, “The main actors in this case are civilians, and it is only reasonable that the case is transferred to the police.

“We will be writing the CP to request the transfer of the case to him.

“I can’t imagine that such a thing could happen in a military barracks; and the way the military officers are handling the matter is pathetic,” Boluagbaje added.