The family of a 15-year-old girl, who was allegedly defiled by four men, including two undergraduates of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, in the Yaba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, has demanded justice for the victim.
The police, which confirmed the arrest of some of the suspects, Chibuzo Ezegbue, aka Khalifa, 24; Mudi Philip, aka Toto, 25; and Oluwabanwo Kolawole, 26, said a manhunt had been launched for Ayo Segun, aka Blackman, who has been on the run since the incident.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the victim was at the institution to check on someone when Segun allegedly accosted and threatened her with a knife and forced her into the treasurer’s office in the Student’s Union Government’s building, where she was defiled.
It was learnt that Philip, the SUG treasurer, whose office was used to perpetrating the crime, was also present when the teenager was being sexually assaulted.
The 15-year-old victim, while speaking with PUNCH Metro, said the suspects had carnal knowledge of her on Saturday, June 29, 2019, around 11am, despite knowing that she was menstruating, adding that after perpetrating the crime, they promised her security on the campus.
She stated, “Unknown to them, I am not a student of the college; I was there to check on someone and was going home when Segun approached me and said he liked me. I told him that I had to leave but I didn’t know that he and his friends were trailing me.
“When I got to a lonely place, Segun stopped me and asked me to follow him. I resisted but he threatened to stab me with a knife. He called his friends and told me to follow them. I had been hearing a lot about cultists, so I became very scared and follow them.
“Segun, Kolawole and Ezegbue took me inside Philip’s office at the SUG building and said they would protect me and use me as their queen if I agreed to have sex with them. Philip was there pressing his phone when I started arguing with them, but when Segun realised that I was shouting, he ordered the rest of the guys out and told me that he would kill me if I refused to have sex with him. I told him I was menstruating, but he never cared and he forcefully had sex with me.
“I thought it was over, but the others came in one after the other to have sex with me. When I tried to stop them, they threatened me. Ezegbue had sex with me but when it was Kolawole’s turn, he saw blood around my private parts and knew I was tired, so he told me to give him oral sex, which I did. When it was Philip’s turn, I pleaded with him and he said he wasn’t there to have sex with me, but said that I should lie to the others that he had sex with me if they asked.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim informed her mother about the incident, who told her uncle and the case was reported at the Bariga Police Station, where police personnel were mobilised to arrest the suspects.
A footage in possession of our correspondent showed Kolawole, Philip and Ezegbue handcuffed after being arrested.
It was gathered that Philip was released after investigation revealed that he did not touch the victim.
A close relative of the victim, who simply identified himself as Olanrewaju, however, condemned the exoneration of Philip, saying he was an accomplice in the incident that had traumatised the victim.
Olanrewaju said, “Philip was the treasurer and his office was used in perpetrating the crime. He was there while the others were at it, but did nothing to stop them and never reported the incident to the college. I don’t know why he was released.
“When the victim informed her mother that she was defiled, we took her to the station to narrate her story. She was crying while narrating her ordeal and the police gave her a letter to a hospital in Yaba to run some tests. After the police got the report, the school was notified and with the help of the security guards of the school, three of the perpetrators were arrested, but Segun is still at large.”
When our correspondent visited the institution on Monday, the Provost, FCE (T), Akoka, Dr Wahab Azeez, during a meeting involving the Registrar, acting Director of Information Service and the Chief Security Officer, said the case had been charged to court, adding that one of the students involved in the incident had been remanded.
Azeez stated, “The matter is in court; the culprits were arrested and have been charged by the police. The girl in question is not our student. One of our students was exonerated, while the other one is in detention. The third person is not our student. We have handed the case over to the police as the law requires and that is the best we can do in this circumstance.
“We cannot cover up any culprit, who has violated the law. It is a criminal offence but we cannot take the law into our own hands. The college also has its own administrative way of dealing with such issues, but this case is criminal and it is the court that can pronounce whether one is guilty or not.
“The college does not condone any act of misbehaviour and it is a teachers’ training institution, whether it is a student or staff member that violates the rule, we do follow the due process and that is what we have done.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the suspects had been charged, adding that the command had launched a manhunt for Segun.
Elkana stated, “We have arrested the suspects involved in the case of the 15-year-old girl, who was defiled by four boys at the FCE (T), Akoka. Two of the suspects, Ezegbue Chibuzo and Oluwabanwo Kolawole, have been charged and are currently remanded in prison custody.
“We are still on the trail of another suspect, Segun, who has been mentioned in that case; we have launched a manhunt for him.”