THE NATION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013
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Anger over police role in rape of 13-year-old
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ESIDENTS of Alagolo area in Ipaja, a Lagos suburb, yesterday condemned the circulation of the rape footage which showed a 13-year-old girl being raped and assaulted by a five-man gang. The incident, which was said to have occurred last year, went public when the alleged rapists, who recorded video footages of incident, left a photo clip in front of the victim's house. An angry mob took to the street to protest the development, but police officers from Alagolo Police Station allegedly dispersed them and coerced them to keep mum over the matter. They alleged that the police officers have been going to "beer parlours" to arrest innocent people while the suspects, whose faces were clearly seen in the footage, were left off. It was learnt that the victim was lured to the residence of the rapists by a 16-year-old girl, identified as Titilayo. From the footage, made available to The Nation, three men, whose faces are seen, were molesting a teenage girl in her school uniform. The video showed a horrified minor, in tears, pleading to be set free by her captors but yet, doing their biddings. A source who pleaded not to be mentioned told The Nation that Titilayo lured the victim to the residence of Ope, one of the suspects, where Waheed, Kola and two others were waiting to defile her in turn. He said: "Titilayo told the victim to follow her to where she would make quick money and the minor innocently followed her.
By Precious Igbonwelundu
"By the time she was made to understand what was about to happen, she objected and was begging them to let her go. But they refused and compelled her to submission. "While they were raping her, Titilayo was laughing and enjoying the fun. From the video they made of the crime, they were all having fun except the small girl who was crying and saying "please brother Ope, let me go". "When they had finished defiling the girl and made recordings, she went home in tears and told her parents who, in order to avoid the stigma, resorted to conceal the matter. "We cannot really say what went wrong but the suspects went further to print a picture of the evil act and deposited it at the victim's doorstep. At the same time, they started circulating videos of the evil. This made the issue public and everybody in the neighbourhood was angry. "The matter became talk of the town; people in the area protested and her parents also went to the Police Station to report.
•Lagos Police Commissioner Umar Manko
The Police have a copy of the video and we expected them to arrest those beasts and prosecute them. "But unfortunately, they came here on Thursday and forced us to delete the videos. They were virtually going from house to house to make sure everybody who had the video deleted it. They also warned us to tell no-
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By the time she was made to understand what was about to happen, she objected and was begging them to let her go. But they refused and compelled her to submission. While they were raping her, Titilayo was laughing and enjoying the fun. From the video they made of the crime, they were all having fun except the small girl who was crying and saying, ‘please brother Ope, let me go’
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CITYBEATS
body about the issue or discuss it anywhere else we would be dealt with. "At first we thought they were doing it to protect the minor but when we saw that the police had released the suspects, we knew it was most likely they had been compromised and want to deny the little girl of justice. Another resident said: "It is not the first time those useless boys are doing such things. They rape young girls, victimise people and boast that no one can do them anything. This one was the height of it, but for God, we would have burnt them to ashes. The state's deputy Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Damasus Ozoani, denied any attempt to cover-up the matter. "It is not true that the police coerced the people to delete the videos or not mention the issue. In fact one of the suspects has been arrested," he said. "His name is Opeyemi Yinsa. He is 20 and lives at Baruwa in Ipaja. The crime was committed in his house. He was taken to the Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, on Friday. The video was played for the CP and the incident narrated. The CP then ordered that the Divisional Police Officer, DPO should go and arrest the other suspects and bring them to book." "These boys have been in the act; they rape girls, take videos of the incident and use it to blackmail them. They threaten them to bring other girls else they will syndicate their own pictures and videos. This has been the practice until this last one.
Widow, lawmaker quarrel over property
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widow, Remi Ogunjobi, has accused a Lagos lawmaker, Kabir Olajide Lawal of depriving her the use of a property bought by her husband 18 years ago. According to her, the property, an apartment in Block 6, Rabiatu Thompson Crescent, Surulere, Lagos, was bought by her husband in 1996 from the son of the current occupant, Mrs. Aisatu Raji, a centenarian. Lawal, who represents Surulere 1 constituency, was Mrs. Raji's lawyer. For nine years, her husband, she claimed, tried to possess the property until he died. Nine years after his death, Mrs. Ogunjobi is still trying to gain possession of the apartment. She said on three occasions, the court ruled in her favour, the last being the verdict delivered by Justice Lateefat Okunnu seven years ago. "When I went with my lawyer, policemen and court bailiffs to take possession of the property after the last judgment, area boys were mobilised against us. They flogged the policemen and bailiffs and we ran away from the scene," she said. When the courts could not help, she said she petitioned Governor Babatunde Fashola, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and political leader in Surulere. She has also gone to the Lagos Television ombudsman programme, Mogbejomide, to state her case but their efforts failed. Her latest attempt was her cry on a Radio station to appeal for public help. "I am afraid to even go to the property because of my first experience with area boys. More so, the old woman said on LTV that it is Kabir Lawal that put her there and only he can remove her," she said. Mrs Ogunjobi said further: "He (Lawal) even acknowledged that fact when we were before the panel at LTV Mogbejomide and agreed that
•Lawal By Oziegbe Okoeki
he was ready to pay rent on the property for as long as Mrs. Raji lives there but up till now, many years after, he has not paid me a dime. I need money. I am a widow with eight children and three of them are in the university. I have to pay school fees and fend for all of them. How do I cope when I am being denied the means through which I can take care of my family?" she asked. Although she said she agreed earlier to rent the property to Mrs. Raji and collect rent from Lawal, now, all she wants is her property. "The lawmaker is giving me conditions of tenancy on my own property. I think this is very unusual. What I want now is for him to pay me the rent for all the years Mrs. Raji has lived in the house. I don't want to rent the house out to them again. He can't dictate to me how much I will rent out my house", she said. Ogunjobi's lawyer, G.O. Bello said he opted out of the case because of the challenge of executing the court judgment given in favour of his client and because Lawal had always ad-
vocated out-of-court settlement. "They have denied Mrs.Ogunjobi possession of her property for too long and the earlier she is allowed to take possession of the property the better", Bello said Lawal decried Ogunjobi's allegations as an attempt to tarnish his reputation and political career because he is no longer involved in the matter. He said he was the lawyer to Mrs. Raji, who in 1996 approached him with a court order that she should vacate the property she had occupied since 1968. He said Mrs. Raji did not know that her son had sold the house. "That time, 1996, I was a practising lawyer; I was not a politician and the matter was still pending in court before I became an honourable member. Even then, I and the plaintiff lawyer were still in the process of resolving the matter amicably before I became a lawmaker. "The plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr. AbdulGaniyu Bello, later came to me at the Assembly to request out-of court settlement because he knew I was handling the case for the old woman before, and we all agreed to
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I don't regret my role as a lawyer to the old woman because my responsibility and duty as a lawyer is to my client ... I stood by her so that she would not be rendered homeless; I don't think I have done anything wrong. I did not collect rent from her
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it. "I promised to relocate the old woman and pay rent for any apartment we are able to secure for her so that the plaintiff can posses her property", Lawal said. He said they were still in this process when the woman took the same issue to LTV where they were told to work with the earlier agreement of relocating the old woman. "Only for Mrs. Ogunjobi to go to a radio station and malign my name and without hearing my side of the story the presenter went on air," he said. "I am now a lawmaker; I cannot wear wig and go back to court. I am no longer involved in the matter and I don't have interest in the matter again but as an honourable member and being a member of my constituency, I volunteered to pay Mama Raji's rent but they should look for an accommodation for her", Lawal said, adding: "I don't regret my role as a lawyer to the old woman because my responsibility and duty as a lawyer is to my client. Mrs. Ogunjobi may have painted a pathetic story on radio, but we are talking of an old woman here, who is close to 100 years and has been occupying an apartment since1968. I stood by her so that she would not be rendered homeless; I don't think I have done anything wrong. I did not collect rent from her". Lawal said Mrs. Ogunjobi agreed to rent the apartment to the old woman at N150, 000 per annum and he agreed to pay. "However, I insisted that they should get a lawyer and draft a tenancy agreement for the old woman and Mrs. Ogunjobi to sign. This was where we were, only for the woman to go to a radio station to say I denied her possession of her property", Lawal said, asking: "Why is she going to the media now for a matter that started in 1996 when in fact we are on the verge of amicable settlement?"
Passengers caught with firearms at Airport By Kelvin Osa Okunbor
A passenger has been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, with pistol in his luggage. He was arrested on Wednesday on arrival from Maryland, United States (US) by security officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). The passenger, according to FAAN's General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr Yakubu Dati, claimed that the gun was brought in from the US for his protection in Nigeria. He claimed to have declared the gun to the airline before checking in his luggage. Another passenger on Aero Contractors flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt on Thursday was apprehended by security officers at the MM2 terminal, for possessing firearms. A pistol was discovered in his luggage. The passenger said he brought the pistol from the US for protection in Aba, Abia State.
Lagos arrests eight, seals off 43 spare parts shops By Miriam Ekene-Okoro
THE Lagos State Government has arrested eight persons and sealed off 43 spare parts shops for failing to register their business outfits. The shops were shut down at Maza Maza, Mile 2, by the enforcement unit of the Lagos State Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) in conjunction with the Lagos State Task Force. Their owners were expected to pay yearly registration fee of N50, 000; auto dealers are to pay N100, 000. The affected people had defaulted in the payment of the annual registration fees, despite government warnings. MVAA officials stormed the area when the shop owners broke the seal placed on their shops and continued trading. The officials were attacked by some of the spare parts dealers, but Task Force officials came to their rescue. Eight were arrested for breaking government's seal and assaulting its officials. Their shops were later shut down. The arrested dealers have been arraigned at the Special Offences Court at the Task Force headquarters.
Two missing Edo WAI officials found From Osagie Otabor, Benin
TWO officials of the Edo State Committee on War Against Indiscipline (WAI) reportedly 'abducted' last Wednesday by some commercial motorcycle riders have been found. One was found naked on the Benin bye-pass where he was allegedly dumped. The other was found on First East Circular Road in the city. WAI officials and cyclists clashed last Wednesday over alleged killing of two motorcyclists. Several motorcycles were destroyed; some WAI officials and motorcyclists were injured. WAI Chairman, David Olukoga told The Nation on phone that one of the officials was locked up in an apartment where he was found. He said they were awaiting the conclusion of police investigations.