The magistrate court in Ogba, Lagos State has ordered the remand of Owolabi Akinolu, a 56-year-old policeman who defiled a 17-year-old girl in his office in June.

On Tuesday, O. O. Fagboun, the magistrate who presided over the matter, committed Akinolu to the maximum correctional prison in Kirikiri, Lagos.

She entertained the prosecution’s argument that Akinolu’s actions violated Section 137 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015, and ordered a 30-day initial remand.

The case is set to resume on March 11 for trial.

In July, the victim’s mother told journalists that her daughter was a victim of armed robbery on June 16 and she reported the matter to Akinolu. The policeman then invited her to his office two weeks later.

READ MORE: Police Silent on Lagos Policeman Who ‘Defiled’ 17-Year-Old in June

There Akinolu took advantage of her. The teenager then reported the matter to her mother, who escalated the issue, leading to a public demand for the policeman’s arrest and prosecution.

The girl also narrated, “He got up to lock the door and put the key in his pocket. I shouted, ‘Sir, why did you lock the door?’ He started trying to pull my clothes off, and I shouted, then he brought out a gun, cocked it, and threatened to shoot me if I shouted.

“Then he began harassing me, and when I struggled with him, he hit me on the back of my head with the gun and raped me.

“I saw his phone ringing and the caller was my mom, but he told me since I didn’t have a phone with me, I should tell her I didn’t get to his office, and from now on I should be reporting at his office by 12 pm every day during school break or while returning from school that he had been watching me for two years, and now I just fell into his trap.”

After this report went public, the police said they were investigating the matter. They later announced they transferred the matter to Abuja, but not much else was said about the case until Tuesday.

Ojukwu is a reporter with FIJ in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.