Department, Ibarapa Polytechnic, yesterday, narrated how she was raped
under a tree by one of the security men attached to Operation Burst
set up by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State to check criminality in
the state.
The incident was said to have happened in Eruwa from 10.30 pm on
August 29 this year while she was returning after seeing off a friend.
She said she was raped repeatedly for five hours before she was let
off the hook by the rapist soldier.
According to her, the soldier allegedly ordered her to climb the
motorcycle while threatening to stab her with a knife.She
said:<!--more-->
"It happened on Friday, August 29, 2014. I was coming back to my room
after seeing off a friend. He accused me of being a cultist for moving
about around that time, but I denied it. He then ordered me to climb
his motorcycle, but I pleaded with him that he should let me go.He
removed a knife and said that he would stab me if I refused to obey
him.
So scared, I climbed the Okada and he took me to the Operation Burst
office in Eruwa.When we got there, he forcefully led me to a dark area
under a tree and ordered me to remove my dress to enable him see if I
had tattoos on my body.I told him I did not have tattoos and that he
should let me go. He then removed the knife again and said that he
would slaughter me like a ram if I failed to 'cooperate' and that I
would be buried like many other girls who had failed to cooperate in
the past, and nobody would trace my death to him.Sensing danger, I
removed my clothes.
He ordered me to lie down under the tree and had sex with me several
times while I was crying.He raped me till 3.30 am and I complained of
catching cold. He entered into the office and brought out a bottle of
beer. He gave it to me to hold for him.Later he said he was going to
bring a blanket for me to cover my body. I waited for about 30
minutes, but when he did not return, I dressed up and ran away."
The victim's counsel, Mr. Adeosun, confirmed her story, saying:
"In the morning of Saturday, August 30, 2014, the victim called her
parents on the telephone and told them what happened. It was the
parents that came to brief our office. We thereafter advised that the
victim should report to the Police Station at Eruwa, which she
did.When the matter was reported to the security outfit, the girl
identified the rapist among other security operatives paraded before
her.
To worsen her ordeal, the Eruwa General Hospital where she went for
test did not help matter. According to her, on arrival in the
hospital, the doctor she met told her to buy hand gloves which she
did.
She said:
"The doctor told me to lie down and use his phone torchlight to
examine my private part and wrote a report that although there was no
trace of semen, the private part had been tampered with." It was
gathered that the doctor claimed he could not carry out test on the
inner part of the vagina because the hospital did not have the
facilities to carry out such test.
The victim's lawyer said a soldier called him at 8.25 pm on Sunday
informing him that the Army had commenced court martial trial on the
indicted soldier, but that the student must appear to testify.
Responding, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr. Festus
Adedayo, quoted the security outfit as saying it had recommended the
suspect for disciplinary measure for abandoning his duty post.In a
statement issued by the outfit's Second in Command, CSP Elijah Bawa,
"immediately the outfit was informed of the allegation of rape
against the said soldier, he dispatched an investigation team to
Eruwa.
"The team met with the Divisional Police Officer for the Eruwa
Division, DSP Kayode Adigun who disclosed that the 23-year old Mass
Communication student of the school lodged a complaint with the
command that she had been raped by the soldier who was also an
operative of the anti-crime outfit.
"The outfit's Second in Command and the DPO took the complainant to
the Eruwa General Hospital for medical examination, the result of
which they said proved negative.
"The soldier will, however, be charged for abandoning his duty post in
the night without permission against standing instructions in the
Operation Burst's code of conduct," he said.
Source: Vanguard
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