Court remands farmer for allegedly defiling minor in Ondo

By Boye Oyeyemi

An Akure Magistrate’s Court has ordered the remand of a 49-year-old farmer, Moshood Oladejo, at the Olokuta Correctional Centre over the alleged sexual violation of a 13-year-old girl in Ondo State.

Oladejo was arraigned on two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and defilement before the court, with the prosecution linking the alleged act to April 26, 2026, at Temidire Village in the Odigbo Local Government Area.

The Prosecutor, Inspector Augustine Omheneimhen told the court that the defendant had carnal knowledge of the minor on the said date, contravening Section 3(2) of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law of Ondo State, 2021, and Section 218 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.

Omheneimhen subsequently urged the court to remand the defendant pending legal advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions.

Oladejo, who appeared without a lawyer, denied the rape allegation but conceded before the court that the victim sat on his lap, adding that he could not account for his actions at the time.

The defendant further told the court that his connection to the victim stemmed from a business arrangement with her grandmother, whom he regularly supplied with firewood.

The Magistrate, Taiwo Lebi, in his ruling, ordered that Oladejo be held at the Olokuta Correctional Centre while awaiting the DPP’s advice, and also directed that the case file be forwarded to the Family Magistrate Court.

Lebi adjourned the matter to August 4, 2026, for further mention.