Almost two weeks after Maria Daramola was allegedly raped and killed by a man identified as Toheeb Ako, her father, Olaoluwa Daramola, just recovering from the shock in the hospital and his siblings spoke with Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare on how Maria’s death has disorganised the family and their fear that justice may not be served.
IN the evening of Monday, August 24, a young woman identified as Maria Daramola was allegedly raped and murdered in Alabata community, Akinyele Local Government Area of Ibadan, by a man known as Toheeb Ako, aka Safejo, who is alleged to be a known rapist within that community, indicating that the notorious Sunday Shodipe is not the only threat in Akinyele axis.
Though it was reported that residents in the community, including the Balogun of Alabata, Chief Rasaq Ajimoti, in their narration said a passerby noticed Toheeb’s gang trying to dump 18-year-old Mary’s corpse in a nearby bush, raised the alarm which resulted in Toheeb’s arrest, Mary’s father, Olaoluwa Daramola, told Nigerian Tribune that she met her daughter’s corpse in a room where he assumes she was killed.
He stated that the situation surrounding his daughter’s death and recent events are creating the impression that the perpetrator who is known for such vice in Alabata community will escape justice once again and make his daughter’s death one that will be swept under the carpet.
Speaking on the incident, Olaoluwa said his daughter was an unfortunate victim of circumstances as if not for the hand fate dealt him, she had no business living away from him and her younger siblings, adding that she was the one taking care of her mother who had been indisposed for years.
“I live at Moniya in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. I am the father of Maria Daramola, the girl that was raped to death in Alabata area of Akinyele. My daughter stayed with her mother at Alabata. I was at home the morning after the incident happened when I was called to come. When I got there, I met the corpse of my daughter in one room in Alabata community. I met two police officers at the entrance of the room. I saw her corpse and the police said we should carry it and put it in a waiting car so they can take it to the station and someone helped me to take the corpse out of the room.
“The condition I met the corpse indicated that she was strangled on the bed where I met her. I used the blanket used to cover her to roll the corpse and put it in the car; no one told me anything or gave any explanation. It was on my way back that the driver of the vehicle told me that the same man that raped my daughter and killed her also once raped his daughter. They reported him and he was arrested and locked up by the police but few days later, they saw he had been released and nothing came out of the matter,” he said.
Speaking on why his daughter lived in a different community within the same local government, Olaoluwa said it was to help her mother.
“Maria wasn’t living in Alabata until few years back. We were all living together as a family but her mother took ill. We battled it for long and it resulted in me selling everything I had for her to get better. But at the end, rather than get better, she got worse. I had nothing left and her ailment led to mental imbalance.
“Since I had no money again, we had to resort to spiritual means. And because we had to depend solely on prayers, I begged our female pastor to allow her stay in church rather than allow her move about and get in trouble. She agreed but because she refused to stay as none of her family members was there, we had to leave Maria to stay with her. That’s how Maria got there and because she couldn’t go to school again, I had to make arrangements for her to learn a trade though she insisted she would still go to school. She had been learning the tailoring trade for three years and would have completed training at the end of this year and become independent.
“In fact, we had bought everything she needs to start out on her own after her freedom only for me to receive the call that she had died. It is painful. I plead with Nigerians to help me get justice. My daughter must not die in vain. I must not be allowed to suffer like this while the person that raped and killed my daughter escapes justice. I was told that it is common knowledge in that area that the man that raped and killed my daughter is a serial rapist who had raped many girls within that community. I plead with Nigerians to let this case be his last attempt at destroying young girls and also to make it serve as deterrent to others like him.
“Maria used to tell me she was not going to live her life as a tailor, that she wanted to go to school and be a professional and a renowned woman and get to the height her mother never attained, but they have destroyed her plans and my expectations. And it’s beginning to look like they want to cheat me because I am nobody and I know no one. I am indeed powerless and my hope of getting justice is only in people rising up to fight for me and ensure this case is not swept under the carpet. Maria has two siblings looking up to her,” he said.
His younger brother, Daramola James Olukunle, who is taking care of him, told Nigerian Tribune how he knew his niece had died, reiterating the call for justice.
According to him, “Maria’s mother fell ill years back and it later led to a kind of mental imbalance. We have been running around with our brother to ensure she gets well; we had spent money and done all we can before the prophetess said they should bring her to the church and she would be healed but she didn’t want to stay so they left Maria, the first born, to stay with her and care for her.
“She started learning a trade and would have graduated in few months. All her work tools have already been purchased but on Tuesday, I was called that Maria had died. I rushed there but they said the police had taken the corpse and the perpetrator had been arrested and was at Moniya Police Station. I went there but they said the IPO was not around and I should come back at 8pm, I went back and asked the IPO to allow me see the perpetrator but he refused.
“But when I wrote a statement and included that the police said they have arrested the perpetrator but I wasn’t allowed to see him, he said I should come and see him in the cell after like one and a half hours wait. Initially the police was mentioning an Igbo name but when I didn’t leave as expected and insisted I wanted to see him, they now told me he is named Toheeb but popularly called Safejo. I saw him in the cell and he repeated to the police in our presence that he committed the act and he was not conscious of what he did because he was high on some substance.
“We were told his case would be transferred the next day to Iyaganku, but till now, we haven’t heard anything from the police. We want justice; people should come to our aid because it seems these people want to cheat us because they are more powerful. We learnt that this is not his first time. I went to the traditional head of Alabata and the elders to find out if Maria had any history of waywardness, and all of them, including the prophetess, said no that she wasn’t that kind of child. The traditional head said the said Toheeb had been sent out of the community because of such acts before now that that was the reason he entered the community at night.
“Government should help us. We are helpless. Maria has two younger siblings looking up to her and we have been unable to tell them that she is dead. Even the mother isn’t conscious of what is happening. She’s just asking for her whereabouts and if she had done something wrong. This is a terrible situation for the family. The father is yet to recover from the shock; he is presently like a living dead. We know that Maria’s destiny has been cut short, but to save other girls from such fate, let there be justice,” Olukunle said.
Another sibling to Maria’s father, Sunday Daramola, reiterated what Olukunle said, adding that “when I was called that Maria was raped then strangled in one house, I went there and we saw the house. People live in that house but we have no details about who lives there. We entered and noticed only three rooms were occupied. I have a video recording of the house and the interior. I was told the police had moved the corpse, so we went to the station at Moniya.
“We asked to see the perpetrator but they refused but later allowed us after we wrote statement. We saw him in the cell, though we didn’t say anything since the police said we shouldn’t say anything. The police asked him questions in our presence. His name is Toheeb and he confessed to raping her in our presence. We can recognise the man if we see him from our impression when we were taken to see him in the cell.”
Speaking to Nigerian Tribune, a representative of Survival Empowerment and Counseling Centre, the nongovernmental organization that the family contacted when the incident happened, Temilade Adekambi, also confirmed what the family said. She said they sent representatives to the police station at Moniya and the community.
“We tried to talk to the police but they didn’t give us audience because they said they were about to refer the case to the state Criminal Investigation Department and that we could follow them, but we sent people to the area to ascertain what happened so we wouldn’t be acting on unsubstantiated information. They went to the village head who confirmed that the boy had been deviant and a known rapist in the area while the girl was not known to look for trouble.
“We went to see the father in the hospital because he was devastated and not in a good condition. We found out that the family couldn’t attend to him because the incident had disorganised everyone, so we had to move him to another hospital for proper treatment and care. We have taken care of the father and counseled him; we are not law enforcement officers, we are just a human rights agency that caters for the welfare of people.
“The police said they are doing their work. We are waiting for feedback, but I urge people to come to the aid of the family; they need help to get back on their feet, to give the wife medical attention so she can be in the position to care for the two younger ones and allow the man concentrate on getting back on his feet,” she said.
In a release, the Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State command, SP. Fadeyi Olugbenga, said the matter is not another ritual killing in Akinyele Local Government community as widely reported, adding that the information received from the Divisional Police Officer at Moniya is that on Monday 24/08/2020 at about 2000hrs, one Toheeb Ganiyu was alleged to have taken one Daramola Mary, his supposed girlfriend, to his house and plied her with trophy beer before having canal knowledge of her.
He added that Mary was later met dead with traces of semen on her private parts and blood stain on her mouth, and the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku for discreet investigation where he is presently under custody.
However, the family insists that Maria is not Toheeb’s girlfriend and there is a conspiracy going on to distort the matter.
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