Mateen Badru
A 47-year-old man, Frederick Olorunfemi, was killed during a scuffle with a school bus driver who allegedly defiled his seven-year-old daughter.
He died on the school grounds in a fight with the driver, Jacob.
Frederick had gone to the school’s administration with his wife and daughter to report the molestation and request immediate action.
Jacob, the driver, fled the scene after Frederick was killed in the scuffle, prompting a police manhunt.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesman in Lagos State, confirmed the incident and said the police were on the trail of the driver and would not relent until he was apprehended.
Speaking with newsmen, Frederick’s widow narrated that her daughter told her how Jacob had taken her to his house in Ajuwon, Ogun, to molest her.
She claimed she told her deceased husband about the report, and he was summoned to the school to settle the matter.
“On Wednesday, Feb. 1, my daughter told me that her school bus driver had been taking her to his house in Ajuwon, on the pretext that he needed to drop something off at home and that she should follow him.
“When they entered the house, the driver would ask my daughter to sit on his lap; to raise her school uniform, and to kiss him on the mouth.
“I told my husband what our daughter said on Monday, Feb. 6, and he immediately called the school to lodge a complaint and said he was also reporting the allegation to the police.
“He was told to come to the school first, so we went there on Tuesday, Feb. 7, and we met the school owner, the driver, and some of the teachers.
“After listening to us, the school owner confronted the driver, saying that he had returned late with the school bus the previous week, and when asked, he said he had gone to drop something at home.
“He was later asked about the allegations levelled against him, which he denied. My daughter was then asked, and she narrated the same experience she told us at home.
“The driver couldn’t say anything other than to query: `me’? `me’? `me’?
“My husband, who was visibly angry, went to the driver and shouted at him to question why he had molested his daughter.
“My husband angrily slapped the driver, and they started fighting, during which he pushed my husband on his chest. He fell and efforts to revive him were abortive.
“We rushed him to a hospital, where he was confirmed dead,” the widow said.
NAN
