University lecturer drowns stepdaughter

The 62-year-old retired lecturer, Dr Ayoola Oyesiji, who drowned his stepdaughter in a bucket of water on the evening of Friday, 16 November,  has been charged to court on a one-count charge of murder on Wednesday November 21.

A source gathered that the doctor’s case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, on Tuesday from Agugu Division where it was initially reported. The case, which was heard by the Magistrate in Court 8, was adjourned to January 8, 2013 while she ordered that the accused be remanded in Agodi prison until further hearing.

Dr Oyesiji was arrested for killing his stepdaughter, Aishat Mohammed by dipping her head in a half-filled bucket of water. The Source spoke with the suspect shortly after his arrest, and his wife. Below are the excerpts:

Doctor Oyesiji

What do you do for a living?

I used to be a medical practitioner. I retired on June 30, this year, as a lecturer from the University of Ilorin. I am not practising for now. I am just waiting to go into other things.

What is your area of specialisation?

General surgery.

Are you married?

Yes. My legal wife is outside of Nigeria while I have a younger wife taking care of me. My legal wife and I are divorced but we have four children. I married my younger wife last year December.

How did you meet her?

She lives close to my family house at Atipe area of Ibadan. I used to see her during my visits to the area.

What happened between you and the lady on Friday, Novemebr 16?

We had a row. She stays in my family house where I used to go and see her from my residence at Ogbere area of Ibadan. I went on Friday and she said she would not stay at home with me, that she was going to her friend’s room next door. I told her that I would not be able to take care of her two-year-old daughter and the baby she has for me alone.

The girl and my baby were sleeping.  To control the movement of the little girl, I put her in a bucket. I did not know there was water in the bucket. The mother was shouting  about the place. All of a sudden, a crowd of about eight people came and started beating me. My eyeglasses broke and I was later brought to the police station.

What were you accused you of?

They complained that both of us had been troublesome in that area. I tried to force them out by shutting the door but they pushed hard against it and wounded me on my toes.

Did you injure the little girl?
No, I did not. I am not the type that beats children.

I learnt that the girl was sleeping when you carried her.

That is correct. I did not want her to interfere in what was going by running around. There was so much noise around and I wanted to prevent what could cause a major damage.

Your young wife said that by the time you came to her yesterday (Friday November 16), you were drunk.

Yes.

What type of drink?

I took some table wine, Bacchus to be precise. I took just the small bottle.
Knowing that you were drunk, why did get to the level of injuring your stepdaughter?
It was alcohol-induced.

I learnt that the actual cause of your row was your sexual advance towards her which she rebuffed.
Yes, that is true. She even agreed but I decided not to go on because of the heat I was feeling. Actually, I started having sex with her about three weeks before this incident.
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His wife, Barakat Akeem

What circumstance led to the birth of the deceased child and how did you meet doctor?

I was impregnated by a teacher. At first, he stayed with me in a room he rented for me but one day, he packed his belongings and left, saying he was no longer interested in me. I moved back to my grandparents’ place where I delivered my baby in 2010.

I met Doctor when he used to come to his family house at Atipe, which was just across the road passing through my grandparents’ house. He used to crack jokes with my grandfather and he later told him  that he would take care of me, as he had heard of all I passed through. My grandfather pointed his attention to my baby but he promised to take care of me. He used to give me and my daughter N1,500 weekly for feeding. Then he used to come home from Ilorin. I was given a room in his family house, where I later got pregnant with his child.

How frequent were your quarrels with Doctor?

We did not use to quarrel except the times he was drunk. Anytime he was drunk, he would start quarrelling with everyone, threatening to burn the house and accusing everyone of hating him.

What led to the death of your daughter?

He was drunk as usual. He came around and later went out for a ceremony. He took N1,000 to Oje area, where he went to have a drink. He came back and asked me for money. I gave him N200. He left and came back again, asking for more money for transport, I gave him N100. He still came back and said he was no longer going back to his house, saying that he would sleep at Atipe that night.
I asked what he would like to eat and he told me to get him amala. I did. He came and said he wanted to sleep.

My first daughter was already asleep while the younger one was with my neighbour who used to carry her. He asked me to come in for sex and I refused, telling him my baby was still small. Though we had had sex about two times, he told me he wanted me to get pregnant. Also that day, I was about concluding my menses but I knew that if I told him, he would not listen because he was drunk.

He dragged me with force but I pushed him away and ran out. My wrapper got loose in the process but I did not wait. I went to take a wrapper from someone in our compound. I came back and people followed me. I begged them to help me bring my daughter out, unknown to me that Doctor had already drowned her in a bucket of water.

People rushed in and asked him of the whereabouts of my daughter but he kept replying them that she was inside the well. They went in search of the girl in the well but could not find her. Someone just beamed light towards the bucket. That was how we found my daughter  head down in the bucket of water, with her legs sticking out.

People screamed that the girl was dead. We rushed her to the hospital but she was confirmed dead. 

Source: Tribune