Lagos surveyor accused of raping a woman

The Lagos State Police Command has started investigation into the alleged torture and rape of a single mother of two, identified only as Ola, by a surveyor, Femi, on Destiny Estate, Abijo, Lekki.

Ola alleged that one Monday, who was working for the suspect, brutalised and subdued her, before Femi raped her.

Although a report from the Mirabel Centre of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, confirmed that there was forceful penetration, Femi, said the sex was mutual.

He added that Closed Circuit Television recordings of the hotel where they copulated also showed that Ola only wanted to blackmail him for refusing to give her N2m.

But Ola in her statement, said she was lured into the hotel by Femi.

She explained that a woman she met at a shopping complex had tried to match-make her with Femi, but she turned him down.

She said, “In 2014, I went to the Ikota Shopping Complex to buy clothes from a woman called Mrs. Bashorun. The clothes were for my children who wanted to celebrate the end of session party.

“I became friends with the woman and later, she told me that someone saw me in her shop and was interested in me. When I met the person, he did not appeal to me. So, I turned him down.

“I lost my uncle around that period and invited Mrs. Bashorun. She gave me N100,000 and said it was from the man. I told her collecting the money did not mean I had accepted his advances, and she said no problem.”

Ola, who sold jewelry, said after the party, the woman started mounting pressure on her to date the suspect, adding that she stopped patronizing her because of the pressure.

She explained that sometime in October 2016, she ran into Femi in the Petrocam, Sangotedo area of Ajah, after which they exchanged pleasantries.

She said, “He said I should forget about the past and that we could be friends with no strings attached. He gave my children N20,000 before leaving that day. We discussed my business, which I told him wasn’t doing well because of recession. He proposed that if I could get buyers for his land, he would pay me a commission on it.”

She said the suspect gained her trust and she felt free with him, adding that he always invited her to land meetings, but was always disappointed whenever she went with her children.

Ola said she later got a visa to America and informed the suspect so he could assist her in selling off her property as she planned to relocate abroad.

The victim said around 7.30pm on December 30, 2016, Femi called to tell her about a party going on in a hotel in the area.

She said, “He said there was someone interested in buying my car and the person attended the party. I sent him a text message that I would come.

“That day, I didn’t take my kids along because it was late. When I got there, there was no party going on. I parked my car and went to meet a lady at the reception. I asked her if there was a party going on at the hotel and she said no.

“I was driving out of the hotel when Femi called my line and said he was upstairs and that I should go back to the reception.

“While going upstairs, I suddenly saw a man behind me. He showed me a knife. He said if I didn’t cooperate, he would kill me and no one would know.

“He took me to a door and someone pulled me in and slapped me. He gave me a blow and turned on the light. I saw the person was Femi; he pushed me to the wall and almost strangled me.

“He called the man with the knife, Monday, to pull off my trousers and he did. He told him to go out and be on the watch. He dragged me to the center of the room and the pressure from the strangulation made me lose consciousness.”

She said she woke up to see the suspect, who had stripped naked, pouring water on her.

She said she reported the case to the police at the Ajiwe Police Station the following morning after she escaped from the hotel.

The victim said she also handed over to the police the evidence of the assault, including her torn panties.

Our correspondent learnt that the police referred the victim to the Mirabel Centre, where tests were conducted on her.

A report of the test, confirmed that the said Ola was indeed physically assaulted and sexually abused.

It was learnt that the police at the Ajiwe division invited the suspect and promised to charge the matter to court.

However, he was said to have been released on bail.

The case was said to have been taken up by the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, which petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, over the conduct of the police at the Ajiwe division.

The Director of the OPD, Mrs. Salami Olubukola, said in the petition, dated January 6, 2017, that the agency had requested that the case be charged to court based on the directive of the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Lagos State, adding that the Ajiwe Divisional Police Officer had promised to do that.

“As our office awaited arraignment details, the petitioner, who had been in contact with the DPO Ajah, informed our office that the alleged suspect had been released on bail by the DPO and was now on the run. I have also put several calls to the DPO, but I have yet to get a response.

“I must express my deepest dismay about the conduct of the DPO and other officers for compromising the case by not charging the alleged suspect to court, but granting him bail instead. I humbly request that your office investigate this matter and do the needful,” the petition read in part.

When contacted, Femi said Ola had demanded N2m from him and threatened that if he didn’t pay the money, she would blackmail him.

He said, “Please don’t mind her, she is a scammer. Actually, she is my girlfriend and she always collected money from me. If you investigate, she has blackmailed many other men in Ajah.

“Anytime she asked me for money, even when I was not in Nigeria, I would send money to her. Sometimes, she would say she was in debt, and I would bail her out.

“She called me on the day and said we should meet at a hotel, that she wanted to groove with me.

“When we got to the hotel around 2am, she said she needed N2m to travel abroad. The way we both entered into the hotel and even the text message she sent to me; I have all the evidence. After we were done and I took her out of the hotel to see her off into the car, I have all the recordings.”

His counsel, Bola Olugbani, said the matter had been transferred to the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit, adding that her client had become the complainant.

She said, “They have a long time relationship and she invited him to a hotel. They ate, drank and retired into a room. She is a mother of two children and she is not a virgin or an under 18 girl.  She is an adult who entered into a hotel with a man; she cannot likely be somebody who was raped. The CCTV recordings show that only she and my client entered the room. She told the police that other persons held down her legs for my client to sleep with her. The CCTV footage showed something different: no human being entered the room with them.

“She held my client’s shirt at 2am, demanding between N2m to N5m or else she would scream rape. My client petted her up till 4am when she loosened her grip and he escaped. She then made a defamatory report at Ajiwe Police Station, Ajah.

“The case file has been transferred to the IG Monitoring Unit at Kam-Salem House, Ikoyi. Legally, my client is now the complainant, while she is the suspect in a case of false information, false petition, blackmail, attempt at extortion and assault. Sooner than later, investigative police report will show that someone is on the wrong side of the law and will be charged to court.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the police were on the case.

She said, “The case is under discreet investigation; the division is still awaiting a medical report. At the conclusion of investigation, proper action will be taken.

“All the divisional police officers know that the Commissioner of Police does not tolerate anyone who compromises cases that have to do with domestic and sexual violence, hence no DPO will want to take such risks.

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