- I plan to marry her – Suspect
Since December 2023, the family of a teenager (name withheld), who was allegedly defiled by the head of Igala Community in Lagos, Muhammed Salifu, has been living through the kind of ordeal many parents dread, one that has left their family shattered and their daughter’s life forever changed.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the mother of the teenager, Mrs Elizabeth Yakubu, recalled how the family first came to know the 58-year-old chief through her husband, who belonged to the same town union association as him.
At first, there was nothing to suggest that the relationship would take such a devastating turn.
According to Yakubu, in 2023, Salifu had asked about her daughter’s ambitions, wanting to know whether the teenager hoped to further her education or learn a trade.
The teenager, born on January 3, 2008, had always shown an interest in tailoring. For her parents, it was an opportunity to help their daughter acquire a skill and perhaps build a future for herself.
Salifu was said to have stepped in to help. He took the teenager to an established tailor in their neighbourhood, paid for her apprenticeship and signed the form on her behalf.
She began learning the trade, apparently unaware of how deeply the man who had offered to help her would later become entwined in the darkest chapter of her young life.
“In December of that year, we told the chief we wanted to travel to our hometown in Kogi State. He suggested that we come to his house so he could lodge us in a hotel near his house at Ojota, making it easier for us to set off very early the following morning.
“We believed the chief and accepted his offer. When my children and I arrived at the hotel, the chief asked us to wait at the reception while he took my eldest daughter upstairs to show her the room he had booked for us.
“None of us suspected anything. We were downstairs, trusting that the chief was simply showing my daughter the room. But when they got upstairs, he locked the door and, according to my daughter, forced himself on her.
“We didn’t hear her cries, and even the hotel staff didn’t either, because we were all downstairs. Before letting go of my daughter, Chief Muhammed threatened to kill her if she dared tell anyone.
“I noticed she wasn’t happy when she came back, but I had no idea what had happened to her. I never imagined that what began as an offer to help my family would become the beginning of this terrible ordeal,” Mrs Yakubu recounted, her voice heavy with emotion.
Alleged attempted abortion
Mrs Yakubu alleged that the first encounter was not the only time her daughter was reportedly attacked by the community head.
That same month in 2023, Salifu was said to have called the mother again, seeking her permission for the teenager to join some of his housewives in carrying out household chores, including washing used plates and other tasks, ahead of his coronation ceremony.
The teenager reportedly went to the chief’s house, which was some distance from their home, and helped with the chores as requested.
When the day’s work was over, however, the teenager’s ordeal, according to her mother, was far from over.
“When there was nothing left to be done, he (Salifu) told her to wait till the next day and that he was going to lodge her in a hotel apartment for her to stay before going back the next day. And that was what she did.
“My daughter disclosed that about 2:00 am (in the early hours of December 27), the chief entered the apartment and forced himself on her again.
“The next day, he threatened her again against telling anyone. But when she didn’t see her period the next month, she told me. We took her to the hospital, and they confirmed that she was pregnant,” Mrs Yakubu said.
For the family, the discovery of the pregnancy marked the beginning of another painful chapter.
The chief was confronted over the alleged rape and pregnancy, but he denied the allegations, which prompted a petition to the police after the matter was reported to the Igala community elders.
Petition to Ketu Police Station
A copy of the petition to the Divisional Police Officer, Ketu Police Station, signed by Mrs Yakubu’s lawyer, Kazeem Adebanjo, and dated July 24, 2026, was seen by Sunday PUNCH.
The petition read, “Our enraged client called the suspect and told him that her daughter, the victim, was pregnant for him. The suspect immediately denied responsibility for the pregnancy, whereupon our client’s husband decided to report the matter to the village elders.
“The elders called and confronted the suspect with the allegation, and he pleaded for time to settle with our client and the victim. The suspect suggested that they all go to his hospital at Ojota, Lagos. On getting there, the pregnancy was confirmed to be his.
“After hearing what the doctor said, the suspect accepted responsibility for the pregnancy. Later in the evening of that day, the suspect paid the sum of N50,000 into our client’s bank account to arrange for the abortion of the pregnancy, but our client vehemently refused the suggestion as she values her daughter’s life and will not do anything to jeopardise her future.”
The lawyer claimed that when Mrs Yakubu and the teenager declined to abort the pregnancy, Salifu blocked them on his telephone lines.
Adebanjo further disclosed that the Yakubus continued to care for their daughter, selling off most of their property to meet her needs until she eventually gave birth.
But even the birth of the baby would not bring the family the relief they had hoped for.
“Much later, the victim fell into labour, and the doctor said she had to have a caesarean section before she could give birth, to which her parents agreed, and they were expecting the new baby.
“Unfortunately, after the delivery by caesarean section, the new baby was not breathing well, so they had to rush the baby to the general hospital, where the newborn baby died after seven days.
“The hospital refused to discharge the victim even after the death of the child, as they had yet to be paid for the caesarean section they performed on her. The victim’s father called the elders in the village for help, and the elders sent them N300,000 to sort out the hospital bills,” he added.
The loss was compounded by what followed.
He further alleged that Salifu did not bother to call or check up on the Yakubus, adding that “the victim’s father later died also due to the ordeals narrated above.”
Mrs Yakubu revealed that her daughter’s womb had been damaged due to complications resulting from the struggle to save the teenager’s life while giving birth, adding that even now, her stomach has remained swollen.
For the mother, the physical scars are only part of what her daughter has been left to carry.
“My daughter’s life has never remained the same again. I want Nigerians to come to my aid and help me get justice for my daughter. She struggles day-by-day at her young age. Please get justice for my child,” she said, fighting back tears.
Reports made to police and DSVA
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the case was reported to Ketu Police Station, and officers were said to have visited Salifu to arrest him but could not find him at home.
The family said that they also reported the case to the Gender Desk of the Lagos State Police Command, but the accused was yet to be arrested.
Mrs Yakubu said the case was also reported to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency and a referral letter was issued to this effect.
