An eyewitness, who claimed she heard Bilikisu’s cries before she
was shot dead, told the reporter that the poor girl must have been
killed after being raped by Ajibawo.
The woman, who craved anonymity, said: “That boy, Ajibawo first
succeeded in raping the poor girl. He wanted to persuade her at
first but she refused. So, he forced himself into her. I heard the
poor girl’s cries, saying God would judge him for the evil that he did
to her.
The girl was also saying she would expose him to the whole
villagers. I think it was at that time that he took his father’s local
gun and shot the poor girl. We heard the gunshot and the girl’s last
cry. That was when we knew something terrible had happened.
Bilikisu’s fellow hawkers later alerted us that one of them had
been shot and we rushed to the spot to confirm the incident.”
The residents raised the alarm that the girl had been killed and
reported the incident to the landlords’ association. Members of the
association later reported the murder incident to the police at the
Ayinla Police Post.
Ajibawo fled the community immediately after the incident. But
policemen from the Ayinla Police Post were able to arrest him three
days later in his hideout.
Blood was still on the floor at the entrance of Ajibawo’s house
when the reporter called at Ibaragu community. The house has
since been deserted. Meanwhile, a pall of gloom enveloped the
community, as residents wore palpable sorrow on their faces.
Those who spoke with the reporter said the blood on the floor
was Bilikisu’s. They added that Ajibawo’s parents and other
relatives of his had since disappeared from the community since
the police arrested the suspect.
Elder brother to Biliku’s father, Chief Adewunmi Adeyemi, said
Ajibawo had in his statement at the police station, confessed that
he killed Bilikisu with his father’s local gun. The suspect was,
however, silent on the rape accusation.
Adeyemi, who spoke with the reporter in his house at a village near
Abeokuta, said: “Bilikisu wouldn’t have died had his mum not insisted
on taking her to Ibaragu. The mother wanted the little girl to help
her in her business. Bilikisu was staying with her parents in Ijoko
before the parents had a quarrel and separated. The mother
relocated to her hometown, Ibaragu, and later took the girl with
her. It was barely two weeks after taking Bilikisu to Ibaragu that
this tragedy happened.”
When the reporter spoke with Bilikisu’s father, he could not
control his emotions. “This is too much for me,” he sobbed. “This
tragedy is too much for me to bear. My girl was a very brilliant girl.
She was doing very well in school and I was about to register her
for a part-time apprenticeship in tailoring when her mother
forcefully took her to Ibaragu, following our quarrel.
I have even bought a sewing machine for her training. This is the
receipt of the sewing machine that I bought. I never wanted her to
hawk anything. She was very bright in school and since neither me
nor her mother is educated, I wanted her to go to school and
become a big person in future. Here are her school results. You
won’t see her scoring below 60 per cent in her subjects. She was
in form three at the Odewale High School, Itoki, Ogun State, and
her teachers were always fond of her because they said she was
very quiet, well-behaved and intelligent in class. How would I ever
recover from the shock and grief of losing such a precious gift
from God?”
An elder sister to Bilikisu’s father, Madam Monsurat, who spoke
with the reporter on phone and relayed how painful the sudden
loss had been for the family, said all the family wanted was justice.
She appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Abubakar
Mohammed, Ogun State Police Commissioner as well as the Ogun
State Government to ensure that Bilikisu’s killer was brought to
justice.
She said: “We have spent so much money on the case since the
police arrested Ajibawo. We have since taken Bilikisu’s remains to
the morgue at the General Hospital, Ifo. The police said they would
carry out further investigation, which includes a post mortem by a
doctor. But they are asking for N60,000 plus another
mobilisation fee for an investigation team to visit the place of
crime.
They said the investigation would establish the accusation that
Ajibawo actually raped and killed Bilikisu. Meanwhile, my brothers
were around when Ajibawo confessed to killing the girl. To worsen
matters, we don’t even have money. My brother is only managing
with his work as a driver and our brother, Sakiru, the father of
the girl, is only a poor bicycle repairer. We can’t even raise the
money for the post mortem and investigation. It baffles me that we
have lost a daughter and are still looking for money to get justice.
This is a burden too heavy for us to bear. We appeal to the
relevant authorities to please help us. We want justice on this
matter. I’m sure Bilikisu’s soul would not rest until justice is served.
This is too bad.”
A police source told the reporter that the case had been
transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department
(S.C.I.D) at Eleweran. He said the suspect would be prosecuted
after the conclusion of investigations
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