Nigerians have taken to the microblogging site X.com to voice their outrage over reports of a 14-year-old girl allegedly sexually assaulted by the landlord’s son, whose identity remains unknown, in the Alakuko area of Lagos State.
A viral social media video on Tuesday believed to show the aftermath of the alleged crime, depicted the survivor drenched in blood as she was escorted away from a crowd that had gathered after the news broke.
This prompted numerous calls from Nigerians across the spectrum demanding the arrest of the alleged perpetrator.
In response to the disturbing video on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, urged the public to report the incident to the nearest police station or provide the address for verification and appropriate action.
“I have been tagged a lot in this post. I have repeatedly called the DPO Alakuko to get an update. The only update I have been getting is, ‘No report of such has been made.
“Please, do well to report at the nearest police station or provide the address to enable the DPO to verify this report and take necessary steps,” he had said.
Shortly after urging the public to report the matter to a nearby station, Hundeyin announced that the police and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency had located the perpetrator’s house. He expressed disappointment that the residents and the survivor’s mother were unwilling to assist with the investigation despite being approached for help.
He wrote, “The house has been located in conjunction with Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency. The landlord is not (at) home. The suspect is not (at) home, neither is the survivor nor her family home.
“The survivor’s mum has been contacted on the phone but she is not willing to cooperate with the police. Also, everyone on the street has declined to assist the police in any form. Radio silence!”
He however insisted that the investigation was ongoing.
Likewise, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, called for a briefing while reacting to the situation.
He said, “The family or whoever knows the young girl, victim, to reach out to me on my line 08037168147. Drop sms, please. We need to take up this matter. @BenHundeyin, @LagosPoliceNG, brief me on this case.”
Although it was later revealed that the state police command and DSVA were collaborating on the case, the anti-gender-based violence unit had previously urged anyone with crucial information about the incident to come forward via its X.com handle.
Efforts to inquire about the status of the investigation were unsuccessful, as messages sent to Hundeyin and the spokesperson for the DSVA, Adejoke Ladenegan-Oginni, had not been answered as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, Nigerian political activist, Oduala (@SavvyRinu), who described the video as “sickening,” said, “Everyone involved (should be) in prison now.”
“We, the youth, clamour for insecurity, when we are even more insecure to each other, we talk about how bandits treat others but we are more cruel than the bandits, we ask for fair treatment, from our leaders. But we can’t even treat ourselves with dignity,” @iammdguba lamented.
Another X user, Abiodun Adeleke (@iamAbiodunAA), urged the authorities not to “settle out of court.”
Supporting Adeleke’s call, @citizen_gavel, said, “The audacity to perpetrate such a heinous act and still threaten justice. We commend the Lagos DSVA for the rapid response to this case and demand that the perpetrator face the full weight of the law.
While urging the family to take the survivor to the hospital for a medical examination, Atinuke (@LadyGrasha) said, “Something must happen. He (suspect) cannot get away with this. Oh, this is terrible.”
Echoing similar concerns, Amourab (@amourab) urged the family to provide the survivor with psychological support to prevent any sign of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, while demanding that the perpetrator be sent to “prison immediately.”
However, other Nigerians expressed concerns that the police might not conduct a thorough investigation, recalling a related case in which one of their officers allegedly raped a 17-year-old girl inside the Ogudu Police Station in the Ojota area of the state.
To date, the command had not revealed the identity of the officer or disclosed the findings of the medical report conducted on the survivor.
