DPO Used Tear Gas On Me, Called Me A Prostitute – Rape Victim

The victim said this on Tuesday while being led in evidence by the state counsel, Inumidun Solarin, at the Lagos State Special Offences Court.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim, who was allegedly raped on September 15, 2015, at a building construction site in Anthony Village, had gone to report the incident at the police station when the unidentified DPO allegedly used the tear gas on her.

It was gathered that on the day of the incident, the victim, who was coming back from a church programme, went to a nearby shop to buy some things for her mother when she was accosted by one Afis Akande.

Our correspondent learnt that Akande asked the victim to follow him to his house under the pretext that her uncle was in the house.

The secondary school pupil, while giving evidence before Justice Sybil Nwaka, gave the description of how she was allegedly raped by Akande.

She said, “I attend Anthony Senior High School. As of 2015, I was 15 years old. I was in JSS 2 then and I knew the defendant, Akande.

“I was on my way back from church and stopped at a shop to buy some items when I met Akande. He approached me and asked why I refused to answer him while he was calling me. I told him that I don’t answer people that I don’t know.

“He then replied that he knew me very well as well as my mother and my uncle, and asked me to follow him to his house. He asked me to take whatever I wanted from the mallam’s shop that he would pay, but I refused.

“When he pressed further, I finally agreed and collected a sachet of milk. He paid for the milk. Thereafter, he told me to come and greet my uncle, who he claimed, was in his house, and I agreed.

“We boarded a tricycle that took us to Westex in Gbagada. When we got there, we crossed over to a water corporation pipe. The place was looking strange and immediately, I became scared and started wondering if he was involved in rituals.”

She added, “So, I fearfully asked him about my uncle but he said I shouldn’t worry that we were almost at his place. When we got to his place, I refused to go inside the house, so I stood outside and asked him about my uncle. He didn’t reply but immediately grabbed my hand and started touching my buttocks and breasts.

“I struggled to free myself and begged him to leave me or I would scream. But he wouldn’t listen. So I asked him to allow me to go home, but he dragged me to a corner of the compound, under a tree.

“I began struggling with him while he was twisting my hand and using the other to remove my pants. When he finally succeeded, he raped me.

“After having sexual intercourse with me, I begged him to take me home, but he refused, saying he wasn’t yet satisfied. In the process, a man who he simply called ‘Emir’ walked in and I ran to him, half dressed, for help.”

The victim noted that instead of ‘Emir’ to help her, he held her down for Akande to have his way for the second time, adding that he claimed that Akande was not satisfied with the first.

She added that when she was rescued by another man, who saw what happened to her, she went to the Anthony Police Division to report the incident.

The victim stated, “When I got to the station and narrated what happened to me, the DPO began to abuse me and called me a prostitute. The DPO said I was a prostitute for following the man to his house. He said it was my fault.

“The DPO now brought teargas from his table and sprayed it in my eyes while calling me several unprintable names.

“He even wanted to spray the teargas into my private parts until I begged him and he left me. I was thereafter given a paper to write my statement and the matter was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba.”

During Tuesday’s proceedings, there was a twist when Akande’s counsel, Worer Obuagbaka, after listening to the victim’s ordeal, told the court that he wanted to disengage himself from the case.

Justice Nwaka, however, refused his request on the basis that he had not presented a cogent reason before the court for wanting to withdraw from the case.

She adjourned the matter until January 30, 2019 for continuation of trial.