“The accused called the girl to a corner inside the mosque, removed her pants, used his hand to cover her mouth and raped her.”
An Abule Egba Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Monday remanded a 35-year-old Islamic scholar, also called alfa, Muideen Bilau, at Kirikiri Minimum Prisons for allegedly defiling a minor inside a mosque.
The Magistrate, Tajudeen Elias, who gave the order, adjourned the case to April 22 for the bail application of the accused.
The accused, who lives at 10, Folarinwa St., Egan, Lagos, pleaded not guilty to the twin- charge of sexual assault by penetration and engaging in sexual activity without consent.
The prosecutor, Racheal Williams had told the court that the accused committed the offence on April 7 at a mosque at 59, Obajimi St., Egan, Lagos.
According to her, the accused went to the mosque to pray where he saw a three-year-old girl, who came in company of her mother for prayers.
“The accused called the girl to a corner inside the mosque, removed her pants, used his hand to cover her mouth and raped her.
“The girl ran to her mother and told her … she saw some semen on her body.
“The accused was immediately apprehended,’’ Ms. Williams, a police inspector, said.
The offence, she noted, contravened Sections 259 and 263(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.