On June 29, a 17-year-old secondary school student was allegedly raped by Superintendent of Police Owolabi (surname withheld) at the Ogudu Police Station in Ojota, Lagos.

The senior officer had reportedly promised to help the girl track and retrieve her phone which had been taken from her at gunpoint about two weeks earlier.

Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, the girl said, “On June 16, my grandma and three siblings were robbed while we were on our way from a family friend’s party at Ikeja. The cab driver took the wrong turn and I was sitting beside the driver so I told him ‘Sir, you took the wrong exit,’ but he said he was going to make a U-turn back.

“Along the way to the U-turn, he suddenly switched off the engine and brought out a gun and knife and collected my phone and that of my grandma. He also collected every jewellery he could find on us. He then left us there.”

On Thursday, June 20, the teenager visited her mother’s shop, located near the police barracks where Owolabi resided. She began narrating in detail how they had been robbed.

According to her, while she was recounting her ordeal, the suspect was seated in the shop with her mother, listening in on their conversation.

The teenager added, “SP Owolabi said he was going to help me track my phone and he told my mum to send him my phone number, the colour of my stolen phone, and a statement. We did that.

“On that Saturday when he asked me to come to Ogudu station where he works saying they had arrested the suspect who stole my phone, my mother was in the market and I didn’t even know the station, I had to ask for directions to the place.”

Our correspondent learned that when the girl showed up at the police station, the suspect reportedly invited her into his office, locked the door, and raped her.

“After raping me in his office, he removed my shoes and made me sit on the floor. I began to regret coming to the station or even attempting to retrieve my phone in the first place. He harshly told me to get out of his sight.

“He told me, ‘Did you see that everyone here calls me the boss and obeys me? You can’t do anything.’ When I walked out of the police station, he still followed me outside and warned me that if I said a word to anyone, he would deal with me,” the teenager told our correspondent.

In an emotion-laden tone, her mother, Mrs Aramide Olupona, told Saturday PUNCH that her daughter began to bleed after the rape and had to be taken to a hospital.

“On the evening of that Saturday, she began complaining of stomach pain, but by Sunday she began to bleed. We went to two hospitals but they couldn’t attend to us because their doctors were either busy or weren’t available.

“We went to Gbaja Hospital where we were attended to and from there we went to Mirabel at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital for medical tests and collection of evidence. All her medical reports are there.

“Owolabi lives at the Iponri police barrack and my shop is beside his house so he sometimes comes to sit at my shop. I never expected that he would do such a thing to my daughter or that he had been watching her. She’s not wayward or an outgoing girl.

“After the incident, his numbers were switched off and the Area Commander told me his whereabouts were unknown. Even when the Lagos State Domestic Violence Agency tried to reach him, his number was unreachable. We wrote petitions but there was no response,” Mrs Olupona stated.

Commenting on how survivors of sexual assault could be helped, a mental health expert at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Dr Victor Essien, told our correspondent, “They may need time to heal from the horrible experience so it’s not something that has to be so prompt. This would involve collaborative efforts with the legal system because this is a medico-legal case.

“I would also encourage the victim to report to the law authorities so they can carry out appropriate investigations that may lead to the prosecution of the perpetrator.

“The victim may have flashbacks of the agonising event so therapies like cognitive behavioural therapy may come in handy. Every survivor is unique and the support they need may vary, so it’s important to respect people’s choices and provide a safe and non-judgemental environment for them to seek help and heal adequately.”

Public outrage

After Saturday PUNCH published the incident last week, many social media users expressed outrage at the case and the allegation that the police had attempted to cover it up.

An X (formerly Twitter) user, Tiaraoluwa @TheOluwabukunmi, wrote, “Lagos DSVA, this case must not be swept under the carpet, please. Officer Owolabi must be punished to the full extent of the law. I am so upset but so grateful that her mum isn’t letting them cover up the case like they want to. I can’t begin to imagine her trauma.”

Another X user, Osaji.i @ocgeorge stated, “So many are complicit in enabling the terrible dysfunction in our society and it’s always really disappointing. The culture of silencing the victims by asking them to be the bigger person after a grave injustice has been committed is crazy. We need a culture of consequences.”

“Every day you read something that happened in Nigeria and you think, surely that can’t be true. But yes, it’s true. A policeman raped a teenager in a police station. Like how confident and lawless do you have to be to rape someone in a place that should be about fighting crime?” an X user, Child of the World @Sucreciouz, queried.

Amidst the social media outrage, the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on his X account wrote, “The Lagos State Command has waded into this and taken necessary steps. The command will speak to this tomorrow. I have asked the PPRO Ben Hundeyin to address it and make a press release on it. We shall get to the root of the matter.

“The Force Headquarters will do a follow-up on the case, too. We assure you all of justice. It goes beyond arrest. The command will still address the matter properly.”

On Monday, a popular blog revealed the full identity of the Superintendent of Police from his Facebook account. From a photo posted by the suspect on his 50th birthday in August 2017, his age was deduced.

By Thursday evening, hundreds of Facebook users had flooded Owolabi’s photo comment sections with their outrage and curses over the rape accusation against the native of Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Meanwhile, a source close to the 56-year-old suspect confided in our correspondent that the 17-year-old girl was not his first victim.

“We heard he did the same thing to one of his female cousins but the issue was covered up. He likes to prey on vulnerable female suspects or the wives of suspects and many of those who work and live with him know this.

“It’s also a well-known fact that if he asks even a female hawker or salesgirl to enter his office, she won’t come out ‘untouched,’” the source claimed.

Suspect detained, police begin probe

In a statement on Sunday, Lagos State PPRO Benjamin Hundeyin noted that the officer in question had allegedly absconded after the incident but turned himself in on Saturday.

He said, “The Lagos State Police Command has placed under arrest one of its personnel accused of defiling a 17-year-old girl. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Adegoke Fayoade, mni has, meanwhile, directed a full-scale and thorough investigation into the allegation.

“The command assures the public that there is absolutely no attempt at a cover-up as such hideous acts are at variance with the code of conduct and professional ethics of the Nigeria Police Force.

“To this end, CP Fayoade once again assures Nigerians that the officer would be dealt with by police regulations and the law if found culpable.”

In separate phone interviews with our correspondent, Mrs Olupona stated, “On Tuesday, my daughter and I were invited by the Commissioner of Police and we saw him (Owolabi) in detention. He is now in custody.

“On Wednesday, a DNA sample was taken from him (Owolabi) and also from my daughter as part of medical tests and we were told the result would be out in 48 hours. I am grateful for the efforts of the Executive Secretary of the DSVA so far.”

On Friday, the state PPRO told Saturday PUNCH that the result of the medical test has been handed over to the police for onward investigation. He said, “The test result. It has been handed over to the police and the investigation has continued.”

Hundeyin who did not disclose the outcome of the test added, “There will be another update in no distant time.”

On Tuesday, in his response to an X user who asked why the police had not yet officially revealed the identity of the suspect, Hundeyin stated, “A medical examination has been conducted on the 17-year-old girl. The result is still being awaited.

“If the results cannot prove anything, it would be difficult to secure a conviction in court. The same procedure would be followed if you were the accused.

“However, if the result proves the allegation true, then he is culpable and we would be the first to mention his name. Again, let us approach issues with facts and not emotions, lest we jeopardise our case with our own hands.”

In his reply to Hundeyin, another X user, Ben Samuel, wrote, “A medical examination on a rape victim takes a maximum of 48 hours. It’s not rocket science. Why can’t you install CCTV cameras in your police stations to ensure the safety of officers and the public, preventing public embarrassment?

“Sexual harassment cases don’t require a medical report to secure a conviction. It’s 2024 – move away from outdated practices. You need to step up your game and remove those bad apples tarnishing your image.”

Also replying to the PPRO, Abdulrasheed Sadiq said, “The accused’s face needs to be published as you published and parade other accused individuals if they are not police officers. When did the incident occur? Can there still be evidence against the officer since it may be difficult to gather sexual penetration evidence”

He added, “Your officer being involved also called for an independent body of inquiry as the masses do not trust your rank and file due to past experiences. It is apparent that the entire police force should recuse themselves from this case to allow for equity and fairness. Please do it right to gain the trust of the populace.”

CSOs urge accountability

In a chat with Saturday PUNCH, Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, expressed concern over the increasing cases of sexual violence, especially the defilement of young girls across the country.

Nwanguma called for “diligent and effective police investigation to document evidence that would lead to a conviction to tackle the menace, ensure accountability create deterrence for the crime.”

He added, “The involvement of police officers in sexual violence and abuse of women in custody or who come in contact with the police at the police station is not new.

“In 2014, a DPO of Onikan Police Division in Lagos raped a female inmate, and the report of a police investigation by a team of investigators empannelled by the then CP Lagos was not made public. The officer was redeployed and continued to be promoted.

“I do hope that the current case of a police officer who allegedly raped a teenager in Lagos will not end the same way as the previous incidents. A case is currently pending at Zone 9 Police Headquarters Umuahia of a teenager gang-raped by three men in Mbaise, Imo State. The investigation is not progressing seven months after the incident happened and was reported.

“It’s the failure to ensure diligent and effective investigation to ensure accountability that this crime persists by depraved citizens and police officers alike.”

Also, the Director of Action Health Incorporated, Dr Uwemedimo Edet, in an interview with The PUNCH noted that “no system on its own can be fully accountable to itself.”

Edet called on “the police service commission, the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Office of the Inspector General of Police, the National Human Rights Commission, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, and civil society organisations to form an independent accountability body within the Nigeria Police Force to get involved in this matter.” (Saturday PUNCH)

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