By Bamidele Kolawole
A 16-year-old boy recently stunned the jurist and the spectators in an Akure Chief Magistrate’s court as he regaled them with escapades of how he robbed and raped some women in a community in Okitipupa local government area of Ondo State.
The shocking revelation came following his arraignment before the Chief Magistrate’s court.
Docked before the court, he narrated how he robbed and raped his victims, some of them were however lucky to be rescued from him. Sekere Camp is an agrarian community in Okitipupa with all the residents engaging in farming in the camp settlement.
The teenager, name withheld, was arranged for conspiracy, armed robbery and rape.
He has since been ordered to be remanded in juvenile detention center by the Chief Magistrates’ Court.
The boy, who claimed to be working on his father’s farm allegedly, committed the offences on November 24, 2021, at about 12:30 p.m., at Sekere Camp, Okitipupa.
The State Prosecutor, Oluwasegun Akeredolu informed the court that the accused person and others now at large, did conspire with others to commit the offences of armed robbery and rape.
He was said to have robbed one Serifat Tijani of N15,000, while armed with dangerous weapon.
The prosecutor said the accused person also attempted to have unlawful carnal knowledge of Tijani after he had robbed her of her money but did not succeed due to the help of people who ran to the scene to rescue her.
Akeredolu added that the accused person also broke into the house of another victim, Mewo Kolawole and stole clothes belonging to his children.
The offences contravene Sections 410, 390 (9), 6 (b), 1 (2) (a) and (b) 359, 411 and 2 (2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap RIl, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The plea of the accused person was not taken.
The teenager who was not represented by any lawyer, told the court that he did not act alone, saying he has a boss whom he delivers his ill gotten gains to anytime he goes out for robbery.
The accused person disclosed that he had lost his mother and two younger brothers, and since then his father has been the one taking care of him.
He told the court that: “I dropped out from school when I finished my JSS3 examination when my father could no longer sponsor me. I became a street boy. That was how I met one brother in our camp named Ola Igbekoyi who introduced me to armed robbery.”
He also explained that Igbekoyi was also a farmer who came to farm at the settlement.
“I attended St Breeders primary school Lamidifa along Ode Irele Road, Ondo State. Later I was admitted into Adetola Model College, Idi Mango, Ore, in Ondo State. I left school due to financial constraint. Since then I have been involved in armed robbery,” he hinted.
He confessed that he had been stealing cocoa beans from different farms in Araromi, and was apprehended by the community people on one of the occasions.
He stated that his father was fined of some amount of money: a male goat, and also a lot of alcoholic drinks and he did as they demanded before they could release him.
He mentioned Igbekoyi as his boss who taught him how to rob.
His words: “He sent me to rob one woman in August, which I succeeded in by forcefully collecting N3,200 from her, and raped her while I threatened her with a matchet. I gave the money to Ola Igbekoyi, he gave me N1,200 out of the money.
“In November, I went to a farm close to my house, based on information given to me by my boss. When I got to the farm, I met the woman and greeted her, she asked if I needed money to eat and I answered her by stretching my hand with the hope of collecting the money instead of giving me the money, she took to her heels.
“I ran after her and she fell down and got injured. She tried to collect the cultlass from me and at the same time asked what I wanted and I told her that I needed her money and she gave me N15,000. And my boss gave me N5,000 from the money.
“I was about to rape the woman when I was arrested.”
When he was asked whether he is into drugs he replied in the negative, saying that he stopped drinking beer when he vomited at the first time he took it and that he only take soft drink.
According to him, Igbekoyi popularly known as Sheboy was an ex convict who lured him into the act, saying he was the one telling him who to rob.
Akeredolu urged the court to adjourn the case to enable him prepare his documents to arraign the accused in the proper court.
In her ruling, the presiding Magistrate, Chief Magistrate Folasade Aduroja ordered the remand of the accused in the Juvenile Home and adjourned the matter till February 8, 2022 for his arraignment in family court.