The Yaba Magistrates’ Court in Lagos has released a 16-year-old girl, Timilehin Taiwo, who was accused of killing a 51-year-old man, Babatunde Ishola, who allegedly attempted to rape her. Timilehin stabbed Babatunde, a security guard, to death at the Aboru area of the state on Saturday, March 7th.
According to Timilehin’s statement to the police, the deceased, who was her father’s friend, asked her to help him fetch water in his house where he lived alone. She claimed that he attempted to rape her on that day and in self-defense, she stabbed him, resulting in his death.
The police charged Timilehin with murder, but at the hearing today, Magistrate Philip Adebowale Ojo dismissed the murder charge against Timilehin following advice from the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP). Dr. Babajide Martins, the Director of the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender (OPD), who defended the teenager pro bono, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision.