A man, Japhet Akawe, on Wednesday, told an Ogun State High Court how a suspected armed robber, simply identified as Moses, raped his wife (name withheld) on a farm in the Sagamu area of the state.

Akawe, who was testifying in an ongoing trial of Moses over alleged rape and armed robbery, before Justice O. S. Oloyede, added that the defendant allegedly snatched his wife?s mobile phone and a motorcycle belonging to his brother.

The witness narrated that on March 18, 2023, while he was away from home, his wife, sister and brother had gone to their farm to harvest cassava before the defendant attacked them at gunpoint.

He narrated further that his wife called him on March 18, 2023, through his sister?s mobile phone and informed him that while they were on the farm, the defendant appeared to them, snatched his wife?s mobile phone, dragged her into the bush and unlawfully had sex with her.

Akawe said, ?On March 18, 2023, at about 3 pm, I received a phone call from my wife through my younger sister?s phone and she told me that she and my younger brother, Joseph and his wife had gone to the farm to uproot cassava. She told me that the defendant forcefully snatched her phone, dragged her to the bush, forcefully had sex with her, took her naked picture and put pepper substance on her face.

?I called my friend to take her to the clinic where she was treated. I called my wife?s phone number and the defendant picked it up and asked if I was not happy he had not kidnapped my wife before he ended the call.

?Afterwards, the defendant called me with a number and issued a warning that I should not call my wife?s number and the number he called with, or he would come for my family. I called my wife the next morning through my younger sister?s phone to go to the police station and report that a criminal had collected her phone so that if anything happened, they would hold her responsible.?

He continued that following the incident, the owner of the motorcycle that was allegedly stolen from his brother charged his brother to court and he had to pay for the cost of the motorcycle before the case was struck out.

He continued, ?On Thursday, March 20, 2023, the owner of the motorcycle which the defendant forcefully collected from my brother arrested my brother and took him to court. The court granted him bail, but I was not around so he couldn?t meet the bail conditions and was taken to prison.

?When I came back, I met with the owner of the motorcycle, negotiated with him and paid him the money for the motorcycle, then the case was struck out in court.?

Akawe went further to tell the court that he reported the matter to the Sagamu Police Station and gave them the number that the defendant had allegedly called to threaten him and his family.

Akawe stressed that three months after reporting to the police, the number was tracked which led to the arrest of the defendant.

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, D. O. Efuwape, the witness said he had not met the defendant before the incident.

When asked how he was able to identify that the defendant was the one who called him, Akawe said through the call the defendant made to him.

After listening to the testimony, Justice Oloyede adjourned the case to May 20, 2025, (today) for continuation of trial. (The PUNCH)

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