Court remands man for allegedly r@ping 18-year old hawker in Ondo

An Akure Magistrate’s Court has ordered the remand of a 20-year old man,  Samson Okegbua, at the Olokuta Correctional Centre over alleged r@pe of an 18-year old girl.

The defendant was arraigned on a charge of r@pe, contrary to Section 3(a), (b) and (c) of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law of Ondo State, 2020.

The prosecutor, ASP A. Jejeniwa, told the court that the defendant allegedly had unlawful carnal knowledge of the victim on June 11, 2026, at about 2:30 p.m. in Ijagba Community, Ifon, within the court’s jurisdiction.

Jejeniwa urged the court to remand the defendant in correctional centre pending the issuance of advice from the Director of  Public Procesution, DPP.

Testifying before the court, the victim, whose identity was withheld, said she hawks herbal medicine and ponmo in the community.

She alleged that while hawking on the day of the incident, the defendant and another suspect identified simply as Junior, who is currently at large, called her and requested to buy ponmo worth N200.

According to her, after collecting the ‘ponmo’, the two men claimed they had no cash on them. She said Junior later returned after allegedly attempting to withdraw money from a Point of Sale (POS) operator, claiming that the bank network was unavailable.

The victim further told the court that the men persuaded her to accompany them to their residence to collect payment.

She alleged that upon getting to the house, the defendant and his accomplice forcefully restrained her, covered her mouth to prevent her from raising the alarm, and subsequently r@ped.