Unending controversy over alleged defilement of two minors as the father in the center of the storm also allegedly disappears with the kids in contempt of court. The NGIJ team of OLUWASEGUN ABIFARIN and OLAWALE ABIDEEN write

Since Monday 3 June 2019, Queen Elizabeth Iluyomade, a widow, has been crying and praying to wake up from her nightmare. A call she received on her phone that evening shattered her peace as the caller broke the news of an ‘okada’ accident in Ile Zik, near Ikeja, that took the life of her first daughter Modupe, married to Oluwaseun Olomo, 41, residing on 3, Banire Close, Egbeda, Lagos.

She rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, but the deed had been done. Modupe is dead. Mrs. Iluyomade wailed; cried bitterly. Then the nightmare began.

Modupe’s death had led to a lot of controversy, suspicion and intrigues before it eventually culminated in a case before Magistrate B.O Osunsanmi of Ikeja Magistrate District, Ogba, Lagos.

Immediately after the burial, Iluyomade, Olomo’s mother-in-law contended that the children (Fiyinfoluwa, 5 and Folakemi, 2) had to reside with her after the death of their mother to stave off the post-death emotional trauma.

After few days with her, she started noticing a strange bowel movement and behavior patterns of the children and decided to carry out medical examination on July 5, 2019 at the General Hospital, Isolo.

While this was on, the “war over the custody of the children” began.

“My opinion was that since Olomo, my son-in-law is an Uber driver, who will not be available to take care of the children, it will be proper to have custody of the children for now,” she said.

Olomo refused and instead allegedly brought members of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, to threaten his mother-in-law, and also petition the Police in Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos.

While the dispute was spiraling, Iluyomade approached the Lagos State Office of Public Defender, OPD, concerning the health of the children, from where she was referred to the Mirabel Center at the Lagos State College of Medicine, LASUTH, Ikeja.

The Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State Ministry of Justice was established on July 24, 2000 to provide qualitative legal aid through free representation in court and legal advice to promote respect for rights and freedoms, the law and constitution and to ensure that all persons resident in Lagos State irrespective of means, sex, tribe or religion have access to justice.

Several tests conducted at Mirabel Center later revealed that the two year old Folakemi had been penetrated severally and serially from her vagina and anus.

It was also discovered that the five year old boy, Fiyinfoluwa had been penetrated through his anus.

According the report signed by Dr. Jideuche Onyememnam “and his team” on 7 August, 2019, it was discovered that two-year old Folakemi had an “apparently nominal female extended genital and there was “a generalized hyperemia of genital mycoses” and “bruises on either sides of vestibule is seen”

According to the report, “the hymen is obliterated with rough centered edges and there is easy visualization of the distal, posterior of the virginal canal.”

Dr. Onyememnam concluded the report that “the genital findings are in keeping with frequent blunt penetration/trauma to the vaginal.”

Also, “the anal finding is in keeping with trauma to this region.”

In his interview, Onyememnam found out that the father was “described as being too eager for the clients to return to his house with him.”

After the test, Iluyomade said an alarmed team advised her to go and bring the other child for examination too.

The result of Fiyinfoluwa, examined by Dr. Alagbe Oyedeji, on 14 August, 2019, was not less tragic. The team found out that there was a “reduced anal sphmiriteric bone which revealed healed anal bruises globally.”

Oyedeji concluded that the “anal examination findings on client are consistent with repeated forceful, blunt penetration into his anus.”

Armed with the medical report and the video evidence where the boy allegedly confessed that the act was done by their father, the OPD referred the matter to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Command since according to them, “the matter has morphed into a criminal offence in which Olomo, the father of the children is a prime suspect.”

The confession and the suspicion, according to Iluyomade were reinforced by the fact that the kids live with their parents only; there was no house help; the mother will leave early for work and the kids will be left with the father who is at home.

The case, Iluyomade alleged was subjected to a lot of manipulation at the Gender Unit before the Muazu Zubairu, Lagos Commissioner of Police at that time, who ordered the IPO at the Gender Unit, Olakunle Orebe to file “an Action right away”.

Eventually, Iluyomade maintained that when the application for Remand Order was heard, Magistrate Osunsanmi granted the suspect bail, according to her, because “there was no sufficient evidence before her to link the suspect to the crime.”

The Magistrate, also held that the statement for the arrangement of the children filed by the Respondent (Olomo) is more credible and acceptable to the court that filed by the Applicant (Iluyomade).

It also held that the independent investigative report from the Social Work department showed that the Respondent is a responsible man.

Maigstrate Osunsanmi therefore ruled that Olomo be granted the custody of the children while Iluyomade was granted access and visitation right once a month.

The judgment has however sparked fresh controversy as Mrs. Iluyomade is suspecting a lot of foul play and therefore crying for justice.

According to her, “upon inquiries made after the day’s proceedings, I discovered that the IPO Orebe, had altered evidence in his affidavit in support of the remand application, giving evidence contrary to the true facts he told the commissioner of Police. Furthermore, he did not bring the video evidence to the attention of the Honourable court, all which have fuelled my suspicion that the IPO is bent on perverting justice in this case.”

Specifically, Iluyomade petitioned the Lagos Ministry of Justice “to take over and investigate the case involving the defilement, sodomy and abuse of the two minors

She also want the Ministry to “investigate the very suspicious and unclear circumstances of the death of my daughter on the 3 June, 2019 with a view to unravelling the truth.”

Iluyomade also wrote to the Inspector General of Police to investigate the threat to her life by one Benedict Olomo, a Superintendent of Police and DPO of Ilasan Police Station.

According to her, on the 19 August 2019, whey the parties were invited to write their statements at the Lagos Police command, Benedict “suddenly emerged and threatened that he is going to kill me for smearing his family name in the mud…and that he has the power and the means to do that.”

Since then, Iluyomade said he has been receiving “strange calls repeatedly.”

Severally months after her petition and several trips to the Ministry, nothing has been done concerning her case.

But Kayode Oyekanmi, Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Justice explained that the Ministry must have “done something behind the scene, and advised Mrs. Iluyomade to go back to the OPD for further action.

On the allegation against the police, the Lagos State Police Public Relation Officer, PPRO, Bala Elkanah, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, explained a case in court has gone beyond the police.

He added the Iluyomade’s petition against the infraction by Olakunle Orebe and the threat to life by Benedict Olomo should have been addressed to the Lagos CP instead of the IG.

“If the petition had been directed to the CP, I could have been in a position to monitor the people involved in the investigation and give an answer. You said the man involved is a SP; who is a SP before a CP?” Elkanah said.

Frank Mba, the Force PRO in Abuja did not pick the calls made to him and did not respond to text messages sent to him.

All calls made to Orebe on 0816-397-4001 and his boss at the Gender Unit office, Mrs Williams on 0802-300-7799 last week were not answered.

Another twist is that two weeks ago, when Mrs. Iluyomade went to check the children as ordered by the court, Olomo has vacated his Egbeda address with the children without telling the court and Iluyomade in defiance of court order which granted her access to the children once a month.

She also alleged that all calls made to his known phone numbers did not go through last week.

A disillusioned Mrs. Iluyoade went back to the OPD last week to relay her predicament, wondering while the body did not appeal the judgment of the Magistrate in the first instance.

Mahmud Taiwo Hassan, OPD’s Head of Public Affairs advised the woman to come back to the center with all her documents for a possible fresh proceedings especially on what looked like a contempt of court.

A lawyer in the Center also counselled that the next moved would be to approach the court afresh.

With no concrete response from the OPD, she has approached her lawyer to file an appeal or a fresh charge of jumping bail against Olomo.

Meanwhile, Oluwaseun Olomo, the man at the center of the storm declined to speak to our correspondent last week and instead referred him to his lawyer, J. Fadesere Esq and Co who insisted that his client has not run foul of the law.

According to him, the judgment was that Iluyomade must got the clearance from the Care Officer at Agege Local Government, who will call Olomo before Iluyomade can access the kids.

Iluyomade however countered that the instruction of the Magistrate was that she should only report to the Care Officer if Olomo denied her access.

On the present abode of Olomo, Fadesere said “he could not divulge such information.”

Iluyomade added that she had been calling the Care Officer severally to report the infraction, but the calls were not picked.

Her trip to the Agege office yielded no fruit as the office was said to have gone on a seminar.

But Mrs. Grace Ketefe, Executive Director of the CeceYara Child Advocacy Centre that provides a child-friendly safe environment for children to disclose sexual abuse maintained that it is the culture of impunity that is fuelling the present growing cases of child molestation and defilement across the country.

She urged Iluyomade to go on appeal against the judgment at the magistrate court.

A distraught Iluyomade still believe she will get justice.

“I cannot lose my daughter in a very suspicious circumstances like that and now don’t even know the whereabouts of my grandchildren after the facts on ground. It is sad. This is pure wickedness and crass injustice. Nigerians should come to my aid,” the distraught woman said.

“My life and that of my family are under threat. My life and that of my children are not safe, Nigerians must come to my rescue,” Iluyomade added.

While she waits and hopes, the nightmare continues.