A suspected rapist standing trial before a Magistrate’s Court in the Agege area of Lagos State has escaped while he was being processed to be remanded in prison.
Efforts by prison warders to apprehend the defendant, who was arraigned on Wednesday for allegedly raping a teenager were said to have failed.
According to PUNCH, credible source said, “The suspect was brought to court by the police and he was remanded. He had been taken to a holding cell by the police when it was discovered that he had not been properly processed. As the police and the prison warders were perfecting the arrangement, he used the opportunity to jump on a vehicle from where he scaled the court fence and escaped.”
A trader in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity and confirmed the incident said, “I was there yesterday (Wednesday) when the incident happened. I saw security operatives and other persons searching for the escaped suspect. He couldn’t have climbed over the fence of Guinness because the fence is high and the top is full of barbed wires. Besides, they have a big and spacious compound and an intruder can be easily spotted.”
The state police spokesperson, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said he could not confirm the incident.
However, a senior official confirmed the incident, adding that efforts were on to re-arrest the fleeing suspect.