Igala community elders have intervened in the case involving a 58-year-old Kogi chief, Mohammed Salifu, accused of defiling a teenager in Lagos.
Salifu was arrested on September 16 by officers from the Lagos Police Command’s Gender Unit, alongside personnel from Ogudu Police Station, after he allegedly resisted arrest.
According to Omeje, a representative of the Igala community, Salifu was released after community elders intervened and stood surety for his bail amid concerns over his deteriorating health while in detention.
He said Salifu, his wife and another man, Mr Isah Ayegba, were required to report to the Gender Unit on Monday as part of the conditions for their administrative release.
Meanwhile, the Igala Youth Community has appealed to the mother of the alleged survivor, Mrs Elizabeth Yakubu, to withdraw the case from the police.
The group said it wanted to prevent the matter from escalating into a court case that could cause division within the Igala community in Lagos.
The case dates back to December 2023, when the girl, then 15, allegedly had sexual intercourse with Salifu twice at a hotel in Ojota, Lagos.
According to her mother, the teenager subsequently became pregnant. She alleged that Salifu initially denied responsibility but later acknowledged the pregnancy and offered ₦50,000 for an abortion, which the family rejected.
A petition by the family’s lawyer, Kazeem Adebanjo, stated that the teenager later underwent a Caesarean section after prolonged labour, but the baby died shortly after birth. The lawyer further alleged that the girl suffered complications that damaged her womb, while her father later died amid the family’s ordeal.
The family had reported the matter to Ketu Police Station, the Gender Unit and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), which referred it to the police for investigation.
The DSVA Executive Secretary, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the suspect had been charged with defilement under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
She reiterated the Lagos State Government’s commitment to due process, survivor support and access to justice, stressing that the government maintains a zero-tolerance stance on sexual and gender-based violence.