An Islamic cleric identified as Kadiri has been arrested in Osun State over the alleged defilement of an underage girl in the Babasanya-Araka area of Ede.
The arrest, confirmed by the Osun State Police Command through its spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, came after angry residents raised alarm over the incident.
The suspect was first apprehended by members of the community during a protest and later handed over to security operatives.
Ojelabi, who spoke on Saturday, revealed that police officers were dispatched to the scene following a report from concerned residents.
He stated, “The matter was reported, and we deployed operatives to the scene. When our men got to the scene, the Amotekun men who arrested him handed him over to us.”
The suspect is currently in police custody. Ojelabi added that preliminary investigations are ongoing at the Divisional level and the case will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Osogbo for further handling.
Giving more insight into the matter, the spokesperson for the Amotekun Corps in Osun State, Idowu Yusuf, disclosed, “The suspect is an Imam of a mosque. He also has an Arabic school in the area where he teached students Arabic. Further investigation is being carried out by the police.”
The victim, an 8-year-old girl whose identity has been withheld, had gone missing for several hours on Saturday, prompting her mother to raise an alarm. She was later found crying and bleeding, after which she was taken to a hospital in Ede for medical attention.
Eyewitnesses said that enraged residents took matters into their hands by apprehending the cleric before handing him over to the Amotekun Corps, who then transferred him to the police for further investigation.
