In one of the most horrendous events ever reported on the Nigerian landscape, a 36-year-old felon, one Sikiru Ajibola, was recently reported to have raped his five-year-old son to death in a fit of bestial lust. Giving an update on the incident, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Ogun State command of the Nigeria Police Force, said that the suspect was arrested in the Ogijo area of Sagamu Local Government. He explained that the suspect was arrested following a report lodged at Ogijo divisional headquarters by the Community Development Association (CDA) Chairman of Olorunwa Arogbeja Ogijo. According to him, the chairman had reported that one of the community members informed him that the suspect had unlawful carnal knowledge of the boy, who died in the process. The Divisional Police Officer, Ogijo division, Enatufe Omoh, quickly detailed his detectives to the scene, where the suspect was promptly arrested. Oyeyemi added: “On interrogation, the suspect confessed to engaging in homosexuality and that while he was having sex with the deceased boy, he died. He confessed further that he quickly dug a shallow grave in a nearby bush, where he hurriedly buried the boy. He has also taken policemen to where the deceased was buried.”

Speaking with journalists on the dastardly incident, Ajibola, who claimed to be confused about the entire episode, said his wife and mother of the deceased, one Basira, had left him. According to him, she is the kind of woman who could pass the night anywhere and did not like to dwell permanently in any place. He added that shortly after the naming ceremony of the now deceased boy, Jamiu, his mother had left the home and dumped him in a swamp, adding that it was members of the community’s development association who saw the baby in the swamp and alerted him. He then proceeded to rescue the boy, but he would later turn out to be his killer. Ajibola, who said he was not exactly sure of the year the boy was born but gave his date of birth as January 20, said the incident left him stupefied. Hear him: “I don’t know how this incident happened. Above all, may God have mercy on me. I don’t understand how everything happened. The incident happened on a Sunday; in the night after I had returned from church at 12 p.m.”

It is indeed tragic that a man, any man, would betray the trust reposed in him as a parent in this most callous, extremely wicked and most insensate manner. Going by the dastardly details that surround this incident, there is a real possibility that the suspect in this saga is nothing more than what is called a clothed lunatic in his cultural environment of the South-West; that is, a mentally challenged person who does not go naked on the streets but still exhibits the tell-tale signs of mental imbalance. That being the case, we urge the authorities to subject him to a psychiatric test, which would give reliable data on his mental health state and provide the route to his treatment. If, however, he is proved to be of sound mind, he must be treated in accordance with the severest provisions of the law.

As a father, Ajibola was expected both to provide for and to ensure that his son, Jamiu, did not suffer indignity. Sadly, and in a most depraved manner, he set upon his own son and did not consider what must have been the deceased’s agonising cries; all that mattered to him was how to satisfy his depraved lust. Having perpetrated the dastardly act during which the boy died, he then proceeded to cover his tracks by burying the boy in a shallow grave. This story shows total depravity, not just the decadence in the society. It is a reflection of the breakdown in societal and family values. If Basira, the alleged mother of the deceased, had been around, it is doubtful that Ajibola would have had the opportunity to perpetrate his crime. But he did, illustrating the kind of sad fate that awaits many Nigerian children who are products of broken homes and live with utterly decadent and depraved parents.

Going forward, the government and the society would need to prioritise mental health issues and the punishment of crime. Developments across the landscape have established the fact that mental health needs are not being met, and that the government must see governance as something that transcends building poor roads and poorly equipped hospitals. It must invest heavily in mental health institutions while simultaneously pursuing policies that enhance family bonds and values. On the other side of the coin, the government must ensure that this is a society with severe consequences for crime. If criminals get away with their crimes because of their connections to officialdom, then the society can only get darker and deadlier. On the other hand, if they are given the appropriate punishments, society would be the better for it as would-be felons would take caution, knowing the sad fate that awaits them once they are caught. Needless to say, the police must get to the root of this matter in order to ensure that justice is done.

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