Tuesday, 18 August 2015

CAR rape victim endured most brutal ordeal – UNICEF

The 12-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by a UN peacekeeper in the Central African Republic “endured a most brutal ordeal”, according to the UN Children’s Fund, while the UN mission said on Monday it was investigating the case.
Stopping short of confirming the rape, the Unicef Executive Director Anthony Lake said his colleagues had met the girl and offered her “every possible help” including medical and psychological assistance and legal advice, according to a statement issued over the weekend.
“While respecting the integrity of the investigation into the incident, it is clear that this child has endured a most brutal ordeal,” Lake said.
The UN mission to CAR said on Monday that the investigation into the alleged sexual assault was ongoing, however, it was “complicated by the large number of nationalities of police and military personnel involved in the operations” when the assault allegedly took place.
The mission and the UN system came under fire last week after human rights watchdog Amnesty International reported on Tuesday that a 12-year-old girl had been raped on August 2 in the capital Bangui while UN troops from Rwanda and Cameroon were carrying out operations during armed clashes.
The rights organisation also said peacekeepers allegedly killed a 16-year-old boy and his father in the same area the following day when the troops began shooting at people indiscriminately.
In an unprecendented move, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday fired the UN mission’s head, Babacar Gaye of Senegal, as the new allegation came on the heels of multiple other reports of sexual abuse by UN troops in the country.
Currently, there are 11 investigations into possible sexual assaults by peacekeepers in CAR since the UN mission began in April 2014.
(PUNCH)

Court grants wife divorce after she threathens to kill herself over husband’s sexual desire



A middle-aged woman, Soliat Adekojo, has asked a Grade ‘C’ Customary Court sitting in Mapo, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area of Oyo State to dissolve her five years marriage to her husband, Musibau over his excessive sexual desire.
The complainant, a trader who resides at Amuloko Area of Ibadan told the court that he seduced her into marrying him five years ago and the union is blessed with a child.
Soliat said,
“I wish to divorce my husband because he is fond of sex. All he knows in his life is sex and is not an ordinary desire, but a marathon sex. He used to have sexual intercourse with me, at least six days of the week and it may be twice a day. He does not give me rest of mind. He monitors me around.
“Whenever I refused to allow him, he would beat me mercilessly. I have told him on several occasions that I am not fit for marathon sex, but he refused to listen.
“On any occasion he had sexual intercourse with me, he uses his singlet and pant to clean my private part and whenever he did this, I would not be okay and may fall sick sometimes.

“On July 4, I told him I would not be able to continue to have marathon sex with him again because of my health; he panicked immediately and told me I will have to leave his house, and that before I leave,he would surely deal with me.
“I called my brother, Biodun Adebayo, to inform him about the situation of things, he came to my rescue and my husband’s mother told my brother that he should take me away from the plaintiff because she could not handle the situation.
“I later got to know through his mother that I am the plaintiff’s ninth wife.
“A week after I left his house, the plaintiff came with the police to arrest my brother, that I conspired with my brother to steal his N2.5 million.
“My brother was detained in police custody for three days but I was bailed the second day by one of the plaintiff’s daughters, Sakirat. Sakirat explained to the police that her father (the plaintiff) was lying about his claim of stolen money.
“Last year June, my husband’s friend, Alhaji Adebolu, called me to inform me that my husband had parked all my belongings to his house. He explained that he also told him that he did want to see me and his son again.
“I later went to his friend’s house to park my things. A week after, I fell sick to the extent that I was referred to a psychiatric hospital for a brain examination because they said I was always mentioning the plaintiff’s name during the sickness.
“My Lord, while passing through this sickness, the plaintiff did not for once ask after me or his only son.
“Early this year, the plaintiff arrested my brother again and he was detained at Agodi Prison for six days. He continuously threatened everyone around me with arrest.
“My Lord, I am fed up with this relationship. Please, separate us. I don’t want to die now.”
Responding to his wife’s allegation, Musibau who is an Alfa admitted to the claims but asked the court to allow him have custody of the child because his wife cannot cater for the child.
In his ruling, President of the court, Chief Agbaje Olasunkami averred,
“Having observed the evidence given by both parties, the court rules thus: the divorce on repayment of bride price is hereby granted with immediate effect.”
Olasukanmi ordered that the child remain in custody of the plaintiff while the defendant must be paying a monthly sum of N3, 000 for the upkeep of the child until he is grown up.
Culled from the SUN

My Husband Passed Me Around Like A S3x-Toy! Lady Narrates How She Was Used By Her Husband & His Twin


The heart of man is wicked. That seems to be a common saying widely used by us. What we often do not ask is the action that prompts that reaction. I want to share my story so some of you out there will learn lifematics-101(Trust no one)

I have been married for 9years and after much attempts to have a child of our own, 5years into the marriage we had a boy. It didn’t come as easy as I have just put it; by the way I didn’t state I married an Igbo man who had an identical twin and I am a (lady.

That alone had come with loads of back and forth from the early preparation days of getting married to finally having a child. Some who have been in my shoes can relate better, I guess. Inter-cultural marriage isn’t always one smooth ride.

My husband’s twin was one man I always had high regard for, he was calm, ever willing to listen whenever my husband and the rest of the family came hard and blamed me for childlessness. Atimes I often wished I married him instead of my husband.

That was how much effect he always had on me during those trying times.
All these while, my husband never had an issue with the closeness that existed between myself and his twin, infact he usually encourages him to come around and spend time with us; much to my delight considering he often gave comforting words whenever my husband chooses not to understand.

There were days in which we just hung out and just enjoyed being happy. He makes some moves that I sometimes find offensive but my husband smiles and says he is my twin.

On this certain day, my husband went to work. I was home seeing a movie when my bro-in-law offered me wine he got on his way to our place, out of excitement I popped, had few shots while we giggled and laughed as usual.

Few minutes later, I felt tipsy and tired, not too long I fell asleep. Waking up, I found myself in the bedroom naked, examined myself and realized there was a sexual intercourse.

Sitting across me was my bro-in-law equally undressed smiling and said it was time for me to know the truth because he could no longer bear it and feels I deserve to know the truth. It was like the saddest and most disappointing moment in my life.

Before I could say a word, he told me all what happened. He told me it was his twin(my husband)’s idea to often switch places at nights.

 Apparently my husband had low sperm count according to his twin, as such could not father a child, that he often had sex with me at night while I thought it was my husband.

While he said all these, I started adding two plus two together and it became obvious he was saying the truth.

My husband sometimes wear a red boxers to bed and when we wake up in the morning I will find a black boxers on the floor and red on him. A lot of things started running through my mind and it began to make sense.

I broke down and couldn’t stand it. Called my mother on the phone and told her I was finished. I couldn’t tell her what had happened and suicide became my next option.

My husband had ruined me, he had made me worthless, life no longer means anything to me as I now see myself as a piece of shit.
Suicide was all I thought of, the two closest persons to me had passed me around like a used sex-toy.

I have left my husband’s house and moved on with my son, whom I am not sure of whom the real father is. Trust nobody. Life is cruel. My story.
Gist. mp3bullet

Shocking Discovery :16-year-old Anambra girl caught in the bush sleeping with 52 men

A 16-year-old secondary school dropout, Ifechukwu Atunanya, has been arrested by policemen from the Anambra State Police Command while allegedly having sex with over 52 young men inside a bush in what looked like an initiation ceremony.
According to reports, the suspects were all rounded up in the bush in Awka and are reportedly members of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity, during the initiation of new members.
Ifechukwu, on her arrest, claimed she was forced to sleep with every male member of the cult during her initiation.
According to the state Commissioner of Police, Hosea Karma, the police acted on an intelligence tip-off that the cult members and their new entrants were in a bush performing some rituals, explaining that some items including guns, machetes and several wraps of Indian hemp, were recovered from them.
On apprehension, the Police said the suspects confirmed that as part of their ritual, every male member of the cult will sleep with every prospective female member.
“This they did in order to secure their oath of secrecy and it was during the raid we arrested ifechukwu,” Hosea stated.
At the police station, Ifechukwu claimed that she had to travel to Anambra from Abuja just to witness the initiation of new members.
In her statement, she said:
“I joined them three months ago and during my initiation; I was forced to have sex with every registered male member of the cult present that night. I was given sedatives so as not to feel what they were doing. It was not easy, but I bore the pain,” she said.
“The day we were initiated, I was the only girl in their midst. I was determined to be a successful member. I was further convinced to stay because I discovered that they were more honorable men than the other cult groups.
“I am sorry for myself and would love to be given the opportunity to go back to school,” she sobbed.
She went further to say she never knew that it was crime to be a cult member.
“I am so sorry,” Ifechukwu begged.
Another member, Ugochukwu Agbazuo, also said they are all undergraduates of various institutions in Anambra.
“Apart from some of our national leaders, we are all students. I was initiated into the cult while I was still in my first year. I had no choice but to join them because of the harassment in school. I discovered that most of the Engineering students in my school were members of different cult groups.”
Speaking further, Ugochukwu added: “If you identify with a known cult in school, the lecturers will respect you. You don’t have to buy handouts. This was why I joined them.”
“We did not steal or harass innocent people. The guns that were found with us were bought in case there was a clash in school. It is our leaders who are all graduates and working across the country that normally assists us to secure the arms. It is strictly for protection and one of the rules of our group is that you must read and pass your exams on merit,” he added.
On the issue of rape, Ugochukwu admitted that it only happened with female members.
“A female intending member cannot undergo the rigorous process during the initiation. So, our leaders suggested that the best way to get them under oath is for every registered member to have sex with her during initiation.
“She would be given sedatives during the process so that she will not physically feel the pain. Ifechukwu’s case was better because we were only 52 registered males present on the day of her initiation. All of our female members were raped,” he noted.
As the story goes, Ifechukuw’s parents, who hail from Anambra State, are still alive. However, she said that they were not aware of her secret cult activities.
“I am from a poor family and I wanted to be the light that will change the situation in my family. I got to know about the cult activity through a friend. She assured me that all the connections that I needed in life will be made if I joined the group,” Ifechukwu stated.
The Sun

Confession of a married Woman:A Man sends wife without womb away after shocking confession


It was a sad end between a couple simply identified as Ogene and Rita (surnames withheld) after Rita confessed to Ogene that she could not bear him any child because her womb was damaged during abortion when she was in secondary school in Onitsha town in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria.
P.M.NEWS gathered that the confession was made five years after they contracted traditional marriage and wedded in an Anglican Church in Umuchu, Aguata in Anambra State.
The husband subsequently sent her away for hiding such information from him after their traditional and church marriage.
P.M.NEWS findings revealed that Ogene is a trader at Head Bridge market in Onitsha and resides in Iyiowa Odekpe in Atani Local Government, a few kilometres to Onitsha urban where he plies his trade.

Their relationship started when Ogene met Rita in the area and proposed to marry her. She accepted and there was formal introduction between the families.

They did their traditional wedding in Rita’s village in Imo State and proceeded to Ogene’s village in Umuchu where they did their church wedding.

According to P.M.NEWS sources, throughout the period the relationship started and ended in marriage, Rita did not tell Ogene that she lost her womb due to abortion.

When Rita did not get pregnant after years of their marriage, they started looking for medical solution to no avail. This cost Ogene huge sums of money.

After the failed medical solution, they decided to embark on spiritual solution which led Rita to meet a pastor to whom she revealed her predicament on why she was unable to get pregnant, P.M.NEWS was told.

The pastor advised her to embark on fasting and prayers and ask God for forgiveness.
The pastor told her that after the prayers she should go to her husband and confess and ask for forgiveness.

The pastor assured her that with the prayers, her husband would forgive her and would still take her as his wife.
Based on the assurance of the pastor, after the fasting and prayers, Rita went to Ogene and narrated her sad story.

P.M.NEWS gathered that Rita confessed to Ogene that she got pregnant when she was in secondary school and to cover the shame, she secretly went for abortion.
She narrated that during the abortion, there was complication which affected her womb and damaged it.

She told him that after the abortion, she had not been able to conceive and she was afraid to tell him before they got married because she did not want to lose him.

She pleaded for forgiveness and asked him to think and decide her fate in the marriage.

The embittered husband told her that there was nothing to think concerning their marriage since she concealed such serious information from him and subjected him to wasting huge sums of money on medical treatment.

He told her that there was no marriage in the first instance between them because she lied to him.
He asked her to pack her things and leave his house.

She left dejected because the advice by the pastor was counter-productive.
Ogene subsequently went to the Anglican Church marriage counsel in Awka and sought for the dissolution of the marriage.

And the church granted his request.
PM News 

Chris Brown & Rihanna will they get back together??? He ‘Loves Her To Death’: Talking To Her Is Even Better Than Sex


Rihanna , 27, is the only girl in the world to Chris Brown  26, right now. Now that Breezy and Ri are finally in a good place again, Chris has realized that he still “loves her to death,” an insider tells that Chris Brown would give anything to be with her again. Here’s the scoop!
“He misses her. He always has. She’s a good woman and he loves her to death. He thinks she’s drop dead beautiful with a soul that only an angel could have,” an insider tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. Aww. His love for her is definitely not just physical. “He’d give anything just to have a meal with her. Not sex. Just a meal. Just to talk. Just to look at her and witness her beauty all over again,” our insider says. Chris and Rihanna have been doing a lot of talking lately — their love just never seems to die! A recent report claimed that Breezy has been FaceTime Nguyen the “BBHMM” singer, he’s been confinding to her over his baby mama drama!
However, Chris isn’t pushing her to meet up, and is just enjoying what they have now. “It’s the simple things he’s after these days,” our source says. “He doesn’t know if it will happen but in the meantime, a man can dream, can’t he?”

Diamond Platnumz's babymama replies paternity test brouhaha

Zari who is Tanzanian singer, Diamond Platnumz's babymama, took to her Instagram page to subtly respond to reports of her ex husband's cousin, Lawrence King,  demanding for a DNA test on her new born baby girl, Tiffah.

AMBER ROSE VICTIM IN ALLEGED PROSTITUTION RING



Amber Rose  was being used to lure models into prostitution ... and she had no idea.
TMZ has learned, the LAPD is now investigating a company that was soliciting models "for a paid celebrity photoshoot and clothing line."  
Aspiring models who contacted the company after seeing an Instagram ad were then told Amber Rose was a key person in picking the models.

The company -- which was allegedly trying to lure the models into prostitution -- enticed them by setting up what they called a FaceTime session with Amber. 
When the models called in, they saw Amber struggling with a bad connection, that eventually failed. What the models didn't know ... the company took an old video from Amber's Ustream and made it look like she was actually on the phone.

Eventually the company told the models they would be set up "on dates with rich guy," with a catch. The company would text the model, asking if they would be willing to be intimate. If so, it would help them get bigger projects, and working with Amber might help them.
One of the models went to LAPD Monday and filed a police report, claiming the company was trying to rope her into a prostitution ring. The LAPD is investigating.

Crime:Man charged with sneaking into bank at night



A 33-year-old man has been arrested and charged before a Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ejigbo after he allegedly stole a micro finance bank’s security uniform at night, wore it and pretended to be one of the guards.

The crime was allegedly committed in Igando, Lagos State, western Nigeria.
The suspect, Lucky Mathew, allegedly scaled the fence of Stallion Micro Finance Bank located in Igando in the night around 8.00 pm and stole the bank’s security uniform and wore it.

However, after a while, two guards on duty, Adams Ibe and Friday Udoh, noticed the presence of Mathew who was not among the security men attached to the bank.

Udoh confronted Mathew to know how and where he got their uniform he wore and who employed him.

Mathew, noticing that his motive for entering the bank’s premises had failed, he allegedly attacked Udoh and Ibeh and took to his heels.

The security guards raised the alarm and Mathew was apprehended on the street and handed over to the police at Igando Division.

During interrogation, Mathew allegedly confessed that he jumped into the bank’s premises through its fence and stole the uniform.

The prosecutor, Seargent Babaji Ishaku, charged him with felony and assault under the Criminal Code.
He pleaded guilty and told the court he committed the offence but only did that in order to sleep inside the bank on that day.

During the fact and sentence, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence him accordingly despite the fact that he did not waste the time of the court.

Barrister Mariam Njoku from Legal Aids Council of Nigeria, urged the court to change his plea to ‘not guilty’ since he said he had no intention to commit any crime in the bank.

The presiding Magistrate, Mrs J. O. E. Adeyemi entered not guilty plea and adjourned the matter till 31 Agugust, 2015 for hearing.

He was taklen back to Kikikiri prison pending the outcome of the hearing.
PM News. 

A Nigerian man death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment for bring methamphetamine into Vietnam.


A Vietnam court yesterday August 17th reduced a death sentence previously handed to 33 year old Nigerian man, Ejiogu Benjamin Ikechukwu, pictured above, for bringing methamphetamine into Vietnam, to life imprisonment.

Ejiogu Benjamin Ikechukwu was in June 2012 apprehended with 3.3 kilograms of the banned drug concealed in metal tubes and a laptop charger in his luggage as he flew to Tan Son Nhat in Vietnam.

When he was arrested, Ejiogu said he only planned to come to Vietnam to buy clothes to resell them in Nigeria and had no idea about the drug in his luggage. According to him, a man asked him to carry the tubes and the charger to Vietnam and that someone would pick them up.

A Vietnam court heard the case brought against him by Vietnam police in August 2013 and sentenced him to death, but he appealed the verdict. Vietnam Supreme Court then canceled the verdict, ordering a new investigation. Investigators could not track down the people who had used him as a drug mule.

According to Vietnam law, anyone convicted of smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in Vietnam face the death penalty.

A man sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for strangling his 3-year-old stepsister.




A western Ohio man has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for strangling his 3-year-old stepsister. Brian Scales, who turned 22 on Sunday, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, aggravated murder and child endangering in the death of Tristan Carlton in February.

The toddler's mother told police she found Carlton unresponsive after coming home from shopping. Medics attempted to revive the girl but were unsuccessful.

Insas Scales told her son at sentencing that she still loved him but "it was the devil that took ahold of you" the day Carlton died.

Brian Scales said it was a mistake what happened, but his mother told him "you don't mistakenly murder somebody."




ABC News

Osinbajo in Addis Ababa for peace mediation summit



Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, represented President Buhari at a peace mediation summit on the situation in South Sudan in Addis Ababa yesterday August 17th. Continue to see more photos...



How the Yoruba can deal with the Igbo


For decades, the Igbo and the Yoruba have lived in peace but have bickered ceaselessly like cat and dog. On April 22, 2014, I wrote an article entitled, “‘Tom and Jerry’ relationship between Igbo and Yoruba to highlight the inherent strengths of these two ethnic groups and how they can positively direct these strengths for the good of the two ethnic groups and Nigeria in general. 

I added another article on April 21, 2015, entitled, “Lagos is not a ‘No man’s land’ but to underpin how the two ethnic groups can work together.
However, one complaint some Yoruba have against the Igbo is that the latter are limiting the opportunities available to the Yoruba by being in control of their homeland in the South-East and also sharing the opportunities in the South-West with the Yoruba.

If the Igbo were all resident in the South-East, and only come into the South-West to transact business and go back, some maintain, there would not be much problem. But the idea of the Igbo settling en masse in Yorubaland, especially Lagos, buying property massively, controlling some markets and products, and having a say in the politics of the South-West seem threatening to some Yoruba. 

It creates the impression that the Igbo usually hold an annual general assembly in a 30-million-man capacity stadium at which a directive is issued to every Igbo person to go to the South-West and take it over. But as has been shown, the Igbo are investment-driven, and land seems to be the best investment in Nigeria, because of its ever appreciating value and the protection it gives to the owner from landlords who talk down on tenants, increase rent at will and eject tenants at the flimsiest reason. 
The Igbo are proud people who don’t like living at the mercy of any “master”.
One weird alternative is to send all Igbo out of Yorubaland. But that option is not an option because the Igbo are Nigerians and have a right to reside in any part of Nigeria without any passport or residential permit. Secondly, even if the Igbo and the Yoruba don’t belong to the same country, the global standard is that people are free to reside in any country once they have valid papers, and they have a right to own property once they can afford it. 
Currently, Nigerians reside in all parts of the world and own property there without being citizens of those countries.
However, there is an option that will balance the skewed equation between the Igbo and the Yoruba and reduce the tension between the two ethnic groups. That option is to have a strategic migration of the Yoruba in droves into Igboland, residing there with their families, transacting business, buying property and participating in the local politics and social activities in Igboland. Currently, many Yoruba seem to be averse to living in other parts of Nigeria outside the Yoruba enclave. Interestingly, they love to live in large numbers in the UK and the US.

Even in the choice of university, it is the same story. The PUNCH edition of August 10, 2015 published a news story on page 6 on the result of the post-UTME examination released by the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. The person with the highest score was Igbo (Onyenachi Nze). Two people tied at third position, and one of them was Igbo (Jude Epunam).

 If you check the results released by universities which are based in the South-East, Yoruba names will be few and far between, not because they don’t want to admit Yoruba students, but because they rarely apply to South-East universities or even those in the South-South. In my class of about 70 students at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, we had only one Yoruba student.
Once the Yoruba take a decision to “invade” the South-East in large numbers, the relationship between them and the Igbo will improve greatly. They will stop feeling short-changed by the Igbo. 

While an Emeka is buying a house in Okota, an Ayodele should be buying a house beside Emeka’s ancestral home in Amawbia. While a Dozie is calling himself Eze-Igbo of Ojo, a Dayo is calling himself Oba Yoruba of Ngwaland.
That was why I was very happy when Ekiti State mooted the idea of sending some Ekiti youths to Onitsha and Aba to acquire trading skills and craftsmanship. 

We Nigerians love to see the bad sides of each ethnic group rather than the good sides. Each ethnic group has some great qualities that anybody who is not enslaved by tribal supremacy and hate can copy and put to good use. My 21-year sojourn in Yorubaland has added some value to me.
In all parts of the world, settlers always have an edge to succeed more than the indigenes. Why? Settlers come with different perspectives.

 They naturally think outside the box. They see things differently and therefore spot opportunities that indigenes can’t spot. They have more drive to succeed. While sons of the soil live in their own houses and pay no rent, and have access to farmlands where they can get food for free, etc, which make them complacent and conceited, settlers know they have to succeed or die of hunger or get booted out by their landlords. 
They are also not bogged down by their culture or positions. A prince in a foreign land will pocket his title and do even menial jobs to succeed, but he can’t do the same in his own land.

While growing up in Nnewi in the South-East in the late 70s and early 80s, I saw hired farm workers from Enugu and Ebonyi send their Nnewi counterparts out of business. 
They came in with hoes whose blades were three times the size of the hoes used by Nnewi farmers. So, they worked faster. And unlike the Nnewi hired workers for whom you must provide one meal plus wine per day until they finished working for you, the Enugu/Ebonyi workers demanded no such thing. They got the job done fast, get paid, and move on to another job. Soon, nobody was hiring the Nnewi workers, and they fizzled out.

Ghanaian tailors, barbers, cobblers, etc, did the same thing to their Nnewi counterparts when they came into the town in the late 70s and early 80s.

The bottom line is that people who want to pay for goods and services want new, better, faster and more cost-effective ways of offering them. They don’t care about your race or religion or nationality. That is why settlers have an edge over indigenes.

So for the Yoruba involved in house construction, architecture, roofing, tiling, wiring, plumbing, auto mechanics, panel-beating/car-painting, house-painting, fashion designing, herbal medicine, hairdressing, nail-fixing, upholstery, restaurants/bars, etc, it may be time to seek a new territory. Igboland needs your fresh perspectives and artistry.

In China, Chinese food would seem ordinary, but in Africa, Europe or America, it is exotic. The same thing goes for something as ordinary as roast plantain (boli) or specially prepared goat meat called asun. Because these are Yoruba meals, if prepared in the South-East by a Yoruba person, they are seen as exotic delicacies.

When there is an influx of Yoruba into Igboland, it will create more competition there. Variety will be added to the lifestyle in Igbo land. A win-win situation will be created. The Igbo will no longer feel that they are being foolish by investing in Yoruba land without the Yoruba reciprocating.

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe with Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Chief Obafemi Awolowo could not unite the Igbo and Yoruba. On the contrary, they created a deeper gulf between the two ethnic groups. 
The absence of regional governments has created an absence of central figures in Yorubaland and Igboland that can champion an honest and enduring Igbo-Yoruba relationship. A real handshake across the Niger is therefore essential now more than ever before.

Tailor seizes girl’s underwear, clothes after rape

A 45-year-old tailor, identified only as Fasasi, has allegedly seized the underwear and clothes of a 16-year-old girl after raping her in the Agege area of Lagos.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the teenager, Comfort (pseudonym), who was a Secondary School Class 1 pupil, was allegedly raped by Fasasi when she ran an errand for her mother.
Our correspondents gathered that Fasasi, who had been arrested by the police, reportedly called the girl and asked her to also buy food for him while she ran the errand for her mother.
Fasasi was said to have led the teenager to his room, when she requested his plate, and allegedly asked her to remove her clothes and underwear.

It was gathered that the tailor allegedly packed the underwear and the clothes away and raped Comfort.
When Fasasi reportedly refused to return her underwear and clothes after the rape, the girl was said to have fled the room. It was learnt that one of the suspect’s neighbours noticed the girl and came to her rescue.

The matter was said to have been reported at the Isokoko Police Division, and Fasasi was arrested.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Comfort said Fasasi threatened to stab her to death with a knife if she raised the alarm.
She added that when the suspect refused to return her clothes after the rape, she fled the room with one of his wrappers.

She said, “It was on April 19, 2015, at about 5pm. My mother and I live on Shaiba Street in the Agege area. I had never gone to the tailor’s house before. I did not know he was a rapist.
“On the fateful day, he asked me to follow him inside his room to get the plates that I would use to buy food for him. Once I entered the room, he immediately locked the door behind him. He then brought out a knife and threatened to kill me if I did not undress.

“I begged him, but he did not listen. I was scared that he would kill me, so I obeyed. But after removing my clothes and underwear, he collected them from me, and went out with them. I asked him where he was taking them to; he said he was taking them to his shop.

“Seconds later, he returned and he raped me. I was shouting inside the room, but no one seemed to hear me. When he was done, I asked for my clothes, but he said he would not release them unless he had one more round. As soon as I saw an opportunity, I took one of his wrappers, and forced my way out of his room.”

Comfort added that it was when she ran out of the room that one of Fasasi’s neighbours noticed and came to her rescue.
“When I got outside, I met a woman who was one of Fasasi’s neighbours. When she saw me, she understood what had happened and confronted him.”

A resident, who identified herself simply as Abiola, told our correspondents that one Singede usually bailed the suspect whenever he was arrested by the police.
She said, “A week after Fasasi was arrested, we saw him returning to his shop. They said he was arraigned in court, but he had been granted bail. Singede must have secured his bail as usual.”
Our correspondents gathered that the suspect, however, had yet to return Comfort’s clothes and underwear to her.
It was learnt from a source in Fasasi’s house that the suspect might have thrown the clothes away.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Comfort’s mother urged the police to ensure that the suspect returned her daughter’s clothes.
She said, “I am afraid of what he might do with my daughter’s underwear. What does he want to do with her clothes? I have been worried since the day this incident happened.”

Our correspondents gathered that the rape incident was also reported to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team.
The DSVRT Coordinator, Mrs. Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, toldPUNCH Metro that a request had been sent for the transfer of the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

She said, “It was a non-governmental organisation that brought the matter to our attention. What we then did was to refer the victim to Mirabel Centre for proper treatment. We also made a report to the police to ensure that the suspect was arrested and charged to court.
“As we speak, the DPP has requested the case file to be forwarded to it. This is a case of alleged defilement, it will be prosecuted by the DPP.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Patricia Amadin, had yet to reply to a text message sent to her phone.