Three teachers arraigned over alleged child abuse in Ekiti

Three secondary school teachers: Messrs Olaofe Ayodele, 50; Gbenga Ajibola, 40; and Adeyanju Olaitan, 44, on Monday appeared before an Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ekiti State over charges bothering on alleged child molestation and abuse.
The first and second defendants are standing trial on a charge of rape, while the third was charged with child molestation.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the trio had earlier been arraigned on February 28 and the court ordered that they should be detained in a police facility.
The court then adjourned the case until March 2 for ruling on bail application.
The first defendant, Ayodele, was alleged to have defiled his 15-year-old student, while the second defendant, Ajibola, was accused of defiling his 17-year-old student.
The third defendant, Olaitan, was said to have allegedly asked his student to agree to marry him to the detriment of her academic and psychological wellbeing.
During prosecution, the prosecutor, Inspector Johnson Okunade, asked the court for adjournment to enable the police duplicate the case file and forward to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.
The counsel to the third defendant, Busuyi Ayorinde, applied for bail on behalf of his client.
Ayorinde said the defendant was still presumed innocent and that the offence he committed was bailable.
The prosecutor opposed the bail application by the third defendant, saying the offence was a serious one and that the case was now rampant in the society.
The presiding Chief Magistrate, Adesoji Adegboye, granted bail to the third defendant in the sum of N200,000 with one surety in like sum.
He, however, ruled that the other two defendants should be returned to police custody.
Adegboye later adjourned the case until March 4 for ruling.