An Investigative Police Officer (IPO), ASP Babatunde Ashifat, on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, told the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja how one Jelili Lawal allegedly raped a 78-year-old woman to death in the state.

Ashifat was led in evidence by Lagos State counsel, Bukola Okeowo, at the resumed trial of Lawal for rape.

The witness said he was assigned the case for investigation on January 2, 2019.

He testified that two ladies, who saw the defendant raping the septuagenarian, called the attention of a policeman on night patrol.

The witness disclosed that the 78-year-old woman was with the defendant on January 1, 2019, at Maryland Bus Stop in Lagos State, where she told him to help her locate her residence.

Ashifat said: “The defendant gave her N500 and they boarded the same bus.

“On getting to a bus stop, the defendant told her to come down, took her to an uncompleted building in a bushy area, assaulted, and raped her at night.

“The victim was crying for help when two ladies heard her and caught the defendant in the act.

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“They helped the woman by calling the policeman on patrol.”

The witness further told the court that the alleged victim, who had problem with her ears, was declared missing by his family.

The IPO said the 78-year-old woman sustained injuries from the rape and later died from excessive bleeding due to the rape.

The police officer added: “The victim was bleeding from her anus and vagina, and I gave a medical form for her to be taken to the Mirabel Medical Centre.

“The medical doctor, who examined her, confirmed that there was a forceful penetration into her vagina.

“I was later told that the victim died due to the bleeding.”

The IPO disclosed that after the report was made, he recorded statements of the 78-year-old woman and the defendant.

Ashifat added that he visited the scene of the incident, which was bushy and abandoned.

The presiding judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, therefore, adjourned the case until October 27, 2023, for the continuation of trial.

The Star