It was learnt that the 42-year-old and parents of the girl, who is in Junior Secondary School one, were neighbours and he had been having sex with her for months.
Punch Metro gathered that the alleged crime was reported to the police after the victim opened up, leading to Emmanuel’s arrest on Tuesday.
However, Emmanuel, who was paraded on Wednesday at the state police command headquarters in Ikeja, said he was dating the girl and that her parents were aware.
He explained that it was the management of the school the girl attended that reported a rape case to the police when they discovered that she was pregnant.
He said, “I have two children, but my wife and I are divorced. I don’t know the girl’s age, but she is more than 13. I met with her parents that I wanted to marry her and they agreed. We had started some traditional arrangements in preparation for the wedding and I had paid them about N80,000.
“I was surprised yesterday (Tuesday) when her mother called me on the telephone to come. On getting there, she said somebody reported to the school authorities that her daughter was too young for marriage. That was why the school took it up.
“The girl and I have been together for over eight months now. I had sex with her twice before she became pregnant.”
But a police source debunked Emmanuel’s claim, saying that he lured the victim while she was hawking plantain in the neighbourhood.
“The girl is 13-year-old. Her mother was here yesterday (Tuesday) and she said she did not know the suspect. She said the girl hawked plantain and the man was one of her customers. He just gave her N500 and raped her,” the source said.
The Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who confirmed that the girl was pregnant, said the suspect would be charged to court after investigation.
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