60-year-old driver rapes mental patient in Ogun State

There was chaos at Iya Abiodun bus stop, Ifo, Ogun State, after a security guard, Abdullahi Muhammed, caught a 60-year-old trailer driver, Lawal Bankole, allegedly having sex with his wife, Tope, on their matrimonial bed.

The suspect was said to have fled the scene, but was later arrested after Abdullahi reported the case at the Ifo Police Division.

Abdullahi, 45, an indigene of Kano State, told our correspondent that Bankole took advantage of his wife’s mental “condition to rape her.”

He said his wife’s mental problem started before he met her.

He said, “My wife has mental problem, which started during her first marriage. She had a surgery that time, but there was a complication which led to the problem. Her ex-husband rejected her, saying he could not live with a mentally-ill person.

“Her family had taken her to different prayer houses for solution to no avail before I came into the picture. I assisted them with money and they decided to hand her over to me in marriage.

“I made sure she stayed indoors always. All she does is to cook and wash my clothes. However, once in a month, she goes to visit her mother and returns. We have a child together, who is about two years old. Her condition is improving, but she is not totally sound yet.”

He said, “I had returned from my trip when I met him on top of my wife. I had a cutlass and a knife at home and I wanted to kill him. But I had a rethink and I decided to hold him.

“But he tore my clothes and bit me. He fought me and took hold of the cutlass; I held him. We were fighting when people separated us and he escaped.

“However, I held on to his trousers, which contained his driving licence, some cash, phones and ATM cards. I used the items as my evidence. I reported the matter at the police station after which he was arrested.”

The wife, 24-year-old Tope, an indigene of Osun State, told our correspondent that the suspect gave her N200.

She said, “I have never met the man before. That day, he entered our compound and asked if I wanted to eat and I said yes. He gave me N200 and went away.

“He later returned and asked me to undress and I did. He put me on the bed and had sex with me. I knew he wasn’t my husband, but I couldn’t shout or do anything. Then my husband entered and caught him.

“The two men started fighting. I ran downstairs to call people. Our neighbours separated them.”

A human rights lawyer, Isaac Durowoju, said the accused had been boasting that nothing would happen to him, adding that the Investigating Police Officer had not treated the case with the seriousness it deserved.

He said, “The woman’s husband has refused mediation because he was not sure if the suspect has HIV or not. He also said in his culture, if any man makes love to another person’s wife, that woman from that point ceases to be his wife. But he said he could not abandon his wife because of her mental condition. And finally, how is he sure that the suspect is not diabolical?”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, adding that the suspect would be charged to court.

He said, “The police have arrested the man and he has confessed to the crime. He took advantage of the woman’s mental condition. He will be arraigned in court.”