By Ayodele Popoola
An Akure Magistrate’s Court has ordered the remand of a 49-year old farmer, Azeez Lamidi, for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old girl and inducing her abortion through the administration of drugs.
The Magistrate, Taiwo Lebi, did not take Lamidi’s plea. He ordered his remand at the Olokuta Correctional Centre, Akure till November 18, pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP).
Lamidi was arrested by operatives of the Ondo State Police Command following a rape complaint filed at the Ogbagi police station, on October 9, 2025, by the victim’s mother, one Mrs Salami.
The victim was reportedly rushed to the nearest hospital in Ogbagi-Akoko, after she began bleeding profusely from her private part where medical personnel confirmed that she had recently undergone a drug-induced abortion.
Upon arrest, the police charged Lamidi with rape.
Police Prosecution, Martins Olowofeso, told the court that the offence occurred at the defendant’s residence at No. 64, Eegun Street, Ogbagi-Akoko, Ondo State.
He stated that Lamidi had unlawful carnal knowledge of the victim and the offence contravened Section 3(a and b) of the Violence against Persons Prohibited Law of Ondo State, 2021.
In an application supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit, the prosecutor urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional centre, pending DPP advice.
Responding orally, the defendant denied the allegation. He claimed the accusation stemmed from malice, as he was the former landlord of the victim’s family and had evicted them after a quarrel between the victim’s mother and his wife.
Lamidi maintained that on the day the alleged crime occurred, he was working on his farm from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and did not see the victim.
“The victim’s father was my tenant in 2022. They left my house after an issue with my wife, I did not see the victim on the said date, I was on my farm working,” he told the court.
Defence counsel, A.V. Ajayi, argued that the victim had already told the police the identity of the actual perpetrator, claiming that his client was falsely accused by the victim’s mother because of the dispute between the two women.
He questioned how Lamidi could have raped, impregnated and procured abortion pills for the victim all in one day.
Ajayi urged the court to grant his client bail on the most liberal terms, stating there was no probable cause for the remand.
After reviewing the case file and conducting an initial interrogation with the victim, Magistrate Lebi ordered that Lamidi be remanded in custody.
The case file is to be forwarded to the DPP for legal advice, and the matter was adjourned to November 18, 2025, for mention.