A 13-year-old girl in Gombe State has accused a 71-year-old man of raping at least ten times.
The Commission of Police in Gombe State, Maikudi Shehu, confirmed the man’s arrest during a press conference on Wednesday.
Shehu said that the suspect, a maize seller at the Gombe main market, who resides in Idi quarters in Gombe, was arrested on June 18.
The young girl whose names are withheld also accused the man of giving her charms and making her steal maize for him.
“Baba here raped me several times; I can remember 10 times that he raped. He started doing it when I was staying with my grandmother,” the alleged victim told the Punch during an interview.
“I’ve known him for more than two years. He lives in my area, close to Galdimari quarters in Gombe, but he started behaving strangely towards me when we met in the big market.
“I noticed that each time I went to buy maize, he would give me N1,000 worth of maize and also mix something inside a bottle for me to drink.
“He also gave me a locally made charm known in Hausa as ‘laya’ to bury in the house.
Speaking on how he gave her charms and mande her steal for him, she accused him of not giving her anything from their illicit deals.
“He said it would make me invisible and that I would not be caught if I stole. This was because he made me start stealing maize for him to sell.
“He made me start looking for where to steal for him. Sometimes, he would take me on his motorcycle and whenever there was an opportunity to steal, I would do so.
“After selling the maize, he would keep the money.”
Sule denies raping her
The 71-year-old Sule Ashiru has, however, denied raping the 13-year-old. According to him, he only did business with her and wasn’t even aware she was selling stolen maize to him.
“I have had no other dealing with her. I was accused of raping her multiple times. That never happened.
“I don’t know anything about the charm; I can swear on the Quran.
|I swear on the Quran, nothing like that happened between us. I want them to bring the Quran. If I really raped her, I should die within a minute.
“She was not the only one bringing maize to me; I swear to God, I didn’t have sex with her,” he added.