A 34-year-old man, Solomon Ajisafe, has been arrested by the police for allegedly torturing his girlfriend, Tope Amuda, in the Igbo Olomu, Ikorodu West area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Solomon, together with his mother, a leader in the Oodua People’s Congress, and some hoodlums flogged Amuda with canes for alleged adultery.
Afterwards, she was taken round the community, before ground pepper was allegedly inserted in her private parts.
The incident happened last Sunday at about 7pm on Aminu Toyin Street.
A resident, who identified herself only as Adunni, said attempts made by neighbours to stop the torture was rebuffed by the OPC.
Adunni said Amuda, a 25-year-old Osun State indigene, lost her mind due to the trauma she suffered.
She said, “They did not allow anybody to rescue her. They made jest of her for hours as they took her round the community. I saw her; she was speaking to herself and was incoherent. That was when I discovered that she had lost her mind.”
The General Secretary, Igbo Olomu Community Development Association, and Coordinator, Women Arise Initiative in the area, Adebayo Obatungbase, said she reported the matter at the Igbo Olomu Police Division.
She said the community was planning to send away Solomon’s mother, whose name was given simply as Mrs. Ajisafe, from the community.
She said, “The suspect’s mother calls herself a prophetess, but she is also a member of the OPC. We have decided to send her away from this community.”
The Chairman, Igbo Olomu CDA, Michael Adekoya, described the incident as “sheer acts of wickedness.”
He said, “The police are trying, but we need special attention from the government. This community has turned to something else. Why would a normal human being insert pepper in a woman’s private parts?”
However, Solomon told our correspondents that he only slapped his girlfriend, adding that they had been dating for the past four years without anything to show for the relationship.
He said, “I am a hardworking man and I had a son before I met her. We have dated for four years and during that period; there was no child between us. She has been a thorn in my flesh because she always made trouble with my family.
“She later fought with my mother and because of that, she decided to pack out of the house. Nine months later, she returned and said she was three months pregnant for me. That was when I beat her. I confessed to the police that I beat her up, but it was only a slap which made her eye to swell.”
Solomon’s sister-in-law, Ayomide Ajayi, a nursing mother, who was equally arrested, said she was innocent.
Ajayi, 27, said, “I don’t know anything about the allegation. You can ask her.”
But the victim, Amuda, insisted that Solomon and his family members tortured her.
Amuda, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “He and his family members used bottle to insert pepper into my private parts. I am done with this relationship. Let everybody go their separate ways.”
A police source told one of our correspondents it was possible Amuda was also flogged with a charm.
The source said, “When we picked her from the general hospital, she could barely walk. They really dealt with her and she has been giving us some useful information on their occult operation.”
Our correspondents learnt that the Office of the Public Defender had equally shown interest, leading to the arraignment of Solomon and Ayomide before an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court on three counts of assault.
The charges read in part, “That you, Solomon Ajisafe, Ayomide Ajayi and others now at large, on June 14, 2015, at about 7pm on Aminu Toyin Street, Igbo-Olomu, Lagos, in the Ikorodu Magisterial District, did assault one Opeyemi Amuda by beating her with cane all over her body; that you indecently and unlawfully assault her by inserting pepper and a bottle inside her vagina, which caused her bodily harm.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty.
The magistrate ordered that they be remanded in custody, adding that the case file be forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, for legal advice.
While adjourning the case till July 15, 2015, the magistrate asked the police to take the victim to a rehabilitation centre.
