Seventy-one-year-old grandfather, Ashiru Sule, who was arrested for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl and using her to steal in Gombe State, shares his story.

You were arrested by the police for raping a minor, what happened?

A girl reported that I raped her and that I asked her to be stealing maize for me.

What do you do for a living?

I sell maize and she was supplying maize to me.

Why was she supplying maize to you? Is she a farmer? 

Well, I usually patronised her. I was told that I had been buying stolen maize but I didn’t know that. I was asked to state the link between the girl and me and I simply told them that we only did business – she brought me maize and I bought. She lied that her mother gave her maize to supply to me. I don’t go to villages to buy maize. I used to travel to villages to buy maize but I stopped doing that and started buying from people around.

How did you meet her?

When we first met, a boy said he loved her.

Apart from business, what other relationship do you have with her? 

 I have had no other dealing with her. I was accused of raping her multiple times. That never happened.

She said you gave her a charm that you claimed could make her invisible… 

I don’t know anything about the charm; I can swear on the Quran.

She said you raped her at least 10 times…

I swear on the Quran, nothing like that happened between us. I want them to bring the Quran. If I really raped her, I should die within a minute. She was not the only one bringing maize to me; I swear to God, I didn’t have sex with her.

Why do you think you were singled out as raping her?

I can swear that I did not rape her. I swear on the Quran, I didn’t give her any charm. I didn’t have sexual intercourse with her. In fact, I need a Quran to swear.

Are you saying the police and the young girl are lying?

I don’t know but I didn’t do it.

Are you married?

Yes, I’m married; I have one wife. One of my sons stays in Abuja. I have 12 children.