Chief Magistrate Mrs C. M. Kushanu of the Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, ordered that 34-year-old driver Segun Falola be held at Kirikiri Correctional Centre after prosecutor ASP Adegoke Ademigbuji presented charges of alleged abduction and defilement of a 14-year-old girl.
The court did not take a plea. Mrs Kushanu directed that the case file go to the Director of Public Prosecutions and listed the matter for 30 September 2026. Until then Segun Falola remains in custody.
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ASP Adegoke Ademigbuji told the court the alleged offences occurred between 3 April and 24 April 2026 in the Alakuko area of Lagos.
He said the girl was taken while travelling from Alakuko to Agege, then held and sexually assaulted. Police later tracked her phone to Oyo State, where officers found her and arrested Segun Falola.
The charges are brought under Sections 137 and 268 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. Section 137 is the state’s principal child sexual offence provision. Section 268 covers abduction. A magistrates’ court cannot conclude either count, which is why the file must go to the DPP.
No earlier public conviction against Segun Falola appeared in the first reports of this case. The allegations therefore remain untested.
Lagos has recorded several abduction and defilement remands this year, some ending in High Court convictions and others collapsing when witnesses or medical proof failed. That mixed record is the proper context for this file.
The phone trace is the operational hinge. Without it, the girl might have remained missing for longer. The prosecutor’s account now sits with the DPP, who must decide whether the evidence can sustain a High Court trial.
Segun Falola’s work as a driver will raise questions about access to routes and passengers, yet the court treated him as any other defendant facing a serious child protection charge.
Mrs Kushanu’s order was brief. ASP Adegoke Ademigbuji confined himself to dates, places and the manner of arrest.
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The next step is the DPP’s advice. Until that arrives, the 14-year-old remains unnamed and Segun Falola remains remanded. The law requires both restraint and speed. The court has so far applied the first.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
