How I Was Almost Set Ablaze Over Alleged Theft Of N16,000 - 15-Year-Old Girl

A 15-year-old girl identified as Ikimi Adewale, almost lost her life after she was accused of stealing a sum of N16,000. The girl who recounted her ordeal in the hands of the mobs, stated yesterday that if not for the intervention of her father, she would have been burnt to death.



Adewale, a hairdresser who still has visible marks of violence on parts of her body, was rescued from the claws of a mob, that had tied her hands, poured pepper into her eyes and private parts, by her father.

According to Vanguard, as at yesterday, six persons alleged to have taken part in the mob attack had been arrested. Narrating her miraculous escape, she said:

“I was eating with my siblings on Monday morning when Aunty Dayo sent for me to plait her hair. I went to her house after eating but did not meet her in the house.

While inside, someone ran out of the house. “In the evening of that day, they accused me of stealing N16,000 from the the room. Iya Feranmi told me to return the stolen money but I told her I did not take it.

“She took fresh pepper, mixed it with water and poured it into my eyes. Yet, I insisted I did not take it and they allowed me to go.

“After I was allowed to go, people in that street started taunting me and my father, calling me a thief.

“The next day, Daddy Dayo came to our house and started beating me again. When my father asked what was happening, they beat him too. “They tied my neck with rope and said I should go and buy dried ground pepper. When I came back, they mixed the pepper with water and poured it inside my eyes.

“Because of the pains, I admitted I stole the money. It was Iya Feranmi that brought kerosene and matches. Aunty Maria brought the belt, which was used to beat me. They stripped me naked.

“They scattered our apartment and in the process found clothes and a new pair of shoes and concluded that I bought them with the stolen money.

Meanwhile, the clothes and shoes were bought for me and my sibling but because they were big, I kept them till the time I would have grown to fit the size. They were about to strike a match on me when a man took it from them.”

The suspects identified as Famuyiwa Gbolahan, Adesanya Adewole, Adesanya Bukola ,Adesanya Adedayo, Saka Mariam, Funmilola Osuntayo were detained at Alade Police Division, Shomolu, Lagos.