Police Arrest Stepfather Over Alleged Assault Of 13-Year-Old

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 38-year-old man, identified simply as Michael, along with another suspect, over the alleged sexual assault of his 13-year-old stepdaughter.

Confirming the arrest during a telephone interview on Monday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said both suspects had been arrested and detained, while the victim had been taken for medical examination.

"The case was reported yesterday evening (Sunday); both the stepfather and the boyfriend were arrested and detained while the victim was taken to Mirabel Centre for medical examination and will be transferred to Gender Ikeja tomorrow morning (Tuesday) for further investigation," she said.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Monday that the suspect was the stepfather of the 13-year-old girl and that she had been repeatedly assaulted before his arrest by the police in the Agege area of the state on Sunday.

According to sources in the community who were privy to the incident, the survivor, who was living with the suspect, had allegedly been running away from home before returning to her biological father, to whom she reportedly disclosed that she had been sexually abused by her stepfather.

One of the sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the incident, told PUNCH Metro on Monday that the girl's father subsequently reported the allegation to a police station in Ketu.

Correspondents learnt that the suspect's detention further led to the arrest of another suspect, whom the police described as the survivor's "boyfriend."