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Lagos printer abducts, rapes pupil he met on Facebook
A screen printer, Oluwaseun Badejo, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl, identified as Lateefat, in the Somolu area of the state.
According to a PUNCH Metro report, the Senior Secondary School two pupil of a public school at Ifako, Gbagada, was alleegdly drugged before the suspect had rounds of sex with her.
It was gathered that the duo met on a social media platform, Facebook.
Badejo, who claimed to be a pastor, was said to have started by sending prayer messages to the victim.
The 25-year-old was reported to have later invited her to a shop on Ayepe Street, Somolu, from where he lured her to his friend’s house.
PUNCH Metro was told that the suspect, with the help of his friend, drugged Lateefat and raped her.
The victim, who missed school and did not return home, was said to have been declared missing by her parents.
After some search, she was reportedly traced to the Ita Baale area of Somolu, where she was rescued.
Her brother told our correspondent that she could not stand up and had to be taken to a hospital for treatment.
He said, “She went to school on Monday and did not return home. On Tuesday, her mother became worried and called me to ask if I knew her whereabouts. That was because her school was near my house.
“When I got to her school, I did not see her and I reported back to her mother that she was also not in school. The mother and I went to meet her teacher to ask for her whereabouts.
“The teacher called some of her friends, who seemed to know her movements. They took us to the man’s shop, but she was not there. They suggested we go to the man’s house.
“We hid somewhere, while her friends went to check. They reported back that they found her sandals at the man’s apartment. I am a scout member. So, with my training, I barged in and got the man arrested. We saw Lateefat on the bed; she could not stand. We took her to a hospital and handed the man over to the police.”
The teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Lateefat’s friends identified Badejo as the man she had been chatting with on Facebook.
She said she pretended to be a detective to be able to drag the suspect to the Onipanu Police Station, where he was detained.
A police source said Lateefat’s drink was drugged by the suspect, adding that she woke up around 1am on Tuesday and found herself in bed with Badejo.
The source said early that day, the suspect had another round of sex with her.
He said, “Actually, the girl’s brother gave her a mobile phone sometime in January 2018 and she opened a Facebook account. That was how she accepted the friendship request of the suspect in February and they started chatting.
“After her mother collected the phone from her, the man gave one of her friends his telephone number and succeeded in luring her and the friends to his shop. He bought drinks for them that day.
“The girl in her statement said he later invited her to his house. The first time she went, he did not do anything to her. It was the second time that he abducted her; she was in her school uniform that day.
“Despite the fact that the girl was menstruating, he forcefully made love to her after drugging her drink. She woke up at 1am after midnight. That morning again, he raped her. When the girl tried to shout, he covered her mouth. The girl said all her begging fell on deaf ears.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident, adding that the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, had ordered that the case should be transferred to the gender unit of the command headquarters.
He said the pupil was deceived by the suspect’s pretence on the social media.
He said, “The girl is 15 years old, while the man claims to be 25 years old. They met on Facebook, where the man claimed to be a pastor and sent her prayer messages. The girl thought she was talking to a pastor, not knowing that he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As a friend, he invited her to a place and she accepted. On getting there, he took her to his friend’s house and had his way with her.
“We suspect that the girl was drugged before he had the marathon sex with her. This was because when police operatives got there, they met a half-filled bottle of soft drink, with a chemical like sodium. We are trying to analyse the substance and the drink the girl took.”
Oti said the suspect’s friend, who aided the crime, had also been arrested.
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
The Guild of Private Broadcast Managers has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
In a congratulatory message signed by the Guild’s National President, Ambassador Patrick Uzoyi-Peters, JP MNGRM, the guild described the milestone as a testament to the NUJ’s unwavering commitment to upholding press freedom, journalistic integrity, and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“For seven decades, the NUJ has played a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape, advocating for the rights and welfare of journalists, and ensuring that the voice of the people remains strong and unyielding. Your resilience, professionalism, and dedication to ethical journalism have been instrumental in fostering transparency, accountability, and national development”.
Celebrating this historic achievement, the Guild’s President, Uzoyi-Peters recognized the sacrifices and contributions of journalists across the nation who work tirelessly to inform, educate, and empower society.
The Guild reiterated it commitment towards collaborating with the NUJ in promoting responsible journalism and strengthening the media industry for the greater good.
While wishing the NUJ continued success, growth, and greater impact in the years ahead, President Uzoyi-Peters prayed that the anniversary serve as a renewed call to uphold the principles of truth, fairness, and press freedom in our collective pursuit of a more informed and just society.
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