Sheu Zayanu, an indegine of Sokoto, was nabbed while trying to rape an eight-year-old girl in Kajola area of Ibadan, Oyo State, but residents set him free because they were of afraid of “the conspiracy of the police”, FIJ can report.

On Wednesday, angry residents apprehended fleeing Zayanu who was caught trying to force himself on a minor he had sent on errand. The girl had shouted but Zayanu fled when he was caught by residents and friends of the girl’s parents.

Having laid their hands on him again around the area where he had attempted to rape the minor, he was rounded up and grilled.

He was speechless. He chose his words selectively while answering questions, as seen in a video recording of events watched by FIJ. Asked whether he had a wife and children, he nodded in affirmation, saying his kids, including a girl, were in his hometown in Sokoto, with his wife.

“Why didn’t you go and sleep with your children,” one man asked him.

READ ALSO: DPP Messed Up a Rape Case Before — Why Trust Them with Baba Ijesha’s?

Zayanu admitted he wanted to rape the girl, but he said he had changed his mind when he was caught. When asked, he said he knew his attempt was against the will of God; he blamed the devil for using him.

The girl he attempted to rape said Zayanu had pulled down his trousers when he was caught red-handed.

“It was in the afternoon,” the girl said in the video. “He pushed me away and said he wanted to have chukucku [sic] with me and I said I was not doing. He begged me and pulled down his trousers and pushed me away.”

The girl explained that when Zayanu pushed her, she called on a boy, Fawaz, who raised the alarm.

“When I told Fawaz, he ran to tell his grandmother. So I shouted and when people were coming towards him, he ran away.” 

Although Zayanu denied pulling down his trousers, he admitted that he really wanted to have carnal knowledge of the girl.

A resident who helped in apprehending the suspected pedeophile said he witnessed how Zayanu ran away when he was caught trying to rape the girl.

“When we saw him today again; he attempted to flee, knowing he had done something wrong. But we chased and caught him around Olororo area before bringing him here,” he said.

Zayanu was interrogated at the premises of Agidigbo FM, a traditional broadcasting firm in Ibadan, Oyo State. After the interrogation, he was warned never to be seen around the girl. He was also warned against committing such atrocity in the future and was set free.

The interviewer who interrogated Zayanu on video said he would have handed the child molester to the police but they were afraid innocent people would be arrested over the matter.

Fadeyi Olugbenga, the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo, did not pick his calls when contacted multiple times by FIJ.

FIJ had reported a similar case of child molestation in Lagos and how the public doubted the handling of the matter by the public and the Department of Public Prosecution. Olanrewaju James, alias Baba Ijesha who is a Yoruba movie star, was alleged of molesting a 14-year-old girl, an adopted daughter of his colleague, Adekola Adekanya.