Two marketers of herbal powder (locally called agunmu) – Ismaila Raheem and Akintola Segun – were recently arrested for allegedly raping a lady at Kajola-Oko, near Osogbo, Osun State. In this chat with BOLA BAMIGBOLA, the suspects speak about the case.
What is your name and how old are you?
My name is Ismaila Raheem. I am 21 years.
What do you do for a living?
I market agunmu (herbal powder).
Why were you arrested?
(I was arrested for) rape. I approached a girl that I wanted us to start a relationship but the girl said I was not of her standard.
For six months, I was pestering her and she was beginning to listen to me, when she met a Yahoo guy (Internet fraudster) and then told me she was not interested in me anymore.
She said I would not take care of her the way the yahoo guy would do. That infuriated me and I decided to rape her. I took that decision because of the way she spoke to me. She declared me unfit to date her.
Did you spend money on her during the six months that you were trying to convince her to start a relationship with you?
Yes.
How much money did you spend?
I can’t really say the actual amount. I normally gave her money to eat. At times, I gave her N200; at other times, it could be N500.
How old is the lady and what does she do for a living?
I don’t know her age but I think she will be older than me. She is an olosho (a commercial sex worker).
Where did you rape her?
It was in her house. My friend followed me. But I didn’t tell him that we were going to the girl’s house to rape her. I only told him to accompany me to her house.
On the day you committed the crime, did you smoke Indian hemp?
We both smoked Indian hemp before we left for the lady’s house. But we didn’t go with any weapon. Immediately after we committed the crime, I ran away to another street because we live close to each other.
The following day, I went to her house to beg her for forgiveness and she told me she had forgiven me; but unknown to me, she knew where I ran to and brought the police to arrest me.
Before the incident, how many other people had you raped?
I had never raped anyone before then. I am not a member of any group or secret society, but I smoke Indian hemp.
What is your name and age?
My name is Akintola Segun. I am 21 years old.
Where do you live and what do you do for a living?
I live in Kajola-Oko near Osogbo. I am a herbal powder seller.
Why were you arrested?
I raped a lady at Kajola-Oko. I followed my friend to her place because he told me that she had been collecting money from him but later refused his advances.
Did your friend tell you what you were going to the lady’s house to do before you left your own house?
No, he didn’t tell me what we were going there to do. We went to her house around 7pm that day.
When you got there, what happened?
The lady didn’t struggle with us. We met her in a room. My friend raped her in my presence and he then invited me. I also did same thing to the girl.
Did you go to the lady’s house with any weapon?
We went there with sticks which we kept in a bag.
How did you do it without drawing attention of other residents?
On getting to her house, we met her and a man inside. We ordered the man to lie face down. We didn’t do anything to him.
We took her out of the room to the backyard. It was at the backyard that we perpetrated the act. She didn’t scream at all.
How many girls did you rape before the last incident?
I had never done such a thing before. It was the devil that led me into doing it. We didn’t take any drink or drug before going there.