A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has ordered the remand of five young men who allegedly tortured a lady in a viral video at the Federal Correctional facility in Mandala, Ilorin till August 1, 2022.

The five accused persons, Jimoh Abdulfatai, Olamide Babatunde, Afeez Ayomide, Agboola Abdulsamad, and Yakubu Mustapha, were slammed with a five-count charge.

They were alleged to have assaulted and tortured a young lady, Ayomide Afolayan, of Songa village, Shao in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State on Monday, June 20, 2022.

According to the prosecution, the five accused persons were charged with criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation, and indecent assault contrary to sections 97, 114, 210 and 391 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under the same sections of the law.

They were also alleged to have inflicted physical injury on the person of Ayomide Afolayan, a student of Bartholomeu College of Health Science, Shao.

The accused were also charged with inflicting emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse on her, contrary to sections 3 and 13 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2020 of Kwara state.

The five accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges before the Court.

Police First Information Report said that “Jimoh Abdulfatai of Number 12, Shao street who is the boyfriend of Ayomide invited her to his house on Monday and accused her of engaging in ‘hookup’ with another man which she vehemently denied.

“While the boyfriend continued to quiz her in front of his other four friends, she pleaded that she was innocent of the allegation of cheating put to her, but the pleading fell on deaf ears and her boyfriend, Jimoh instructed his other friends to hold her wrist while her hands and legs were tightly held and tied by the other friends.

“The boyfriend started to beat her and forcefully retrieved the lady’s telephone handset and handed over the phone to one of his friends to start videoing the actions and eventual posting on social media,” it said.

The FIR further stated, “The Police in Shao got wind of this highly despicable incident which prompted a swoop on the scene; the suspects were rounded up, victim liberated and was taken to hospital for treatment.”

The Prosecutor, Yusuf Nasir, urged the court to remand the suspects, saying the offences they allegedly committed are not ordinarily bailable.

One of the counsels for the accused persons, Toyin Onoolapo, prayed the court to grant the accused persons bail as the law presumes them to be innocent of the alleged crime until proven otherwise by the Court.

The Presiding Judge, Muhammed Ibrahim, however, ordered the five accused persons to be remanded n the Federal Correctional Service Centre till the next day of adjournment of the case.

The case was adjourned till August 1, 2022, for hearing.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Tuesday Assayomo, has advised parents on the need to be parents in the real sense of it; adding, “parents should monitor their children, know the kind of friends they keep so as to avert this type of ugly incident.

The Commissioner in a statement signed by the Kwara Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, said that “this incident would serve a deterrent to other people having such criminal and appalling tendency in their minds.” (The PUNCH)

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