Not Again! Gang Of Six Rape Two Sisters In Lagos

Not Again! Gang Of Six Rape Two Sisters In Lagos

Two sisters, Essiet, 18, and 20-year-old Debby (not real names), have been raped by a gang of six men who accosted them in the Bariga area of Lagos State. PUNCH Metro learnt that the victims were returning from a hospital in the Oworonsoki area last Thursday when they were attacked by the suspects. It was learnt that while Essiet was deflowered by four men, her elder sister, Debby, was ravished by two of the hoodlums.

When PUNCH Metro visited the scene of the incident on Ogundero/ Dahomey streets on Wednesday, the people in the area said they were not aware. Some of those who spoke said they were not living in the area, but only ran their trade on the streets. However, it was learnt from a source that the matter was reported at the Bariga Police Station and two of the suspects had been arrested.

PUNCH Metro spoke with Essiet who described her experience as a nightmare. She said, “It happened on May 21 around 11pm. My sister and I went to give food to a family member who had just given birth to a baby in Oworonsoki. “We were returning in the night when we saw the men. They had guns, cutlasses and other weapons. “They waylaid us and said if we shouted they would kill us. They took us to a spot around Dahomey junction and raped us.”

The second victim, Debby, described the incident as painful. She said she wanted the suspects punished and their accomplices, who were still at large, arrested. She said, “Two of them raped me, while four raped my sister. “The third man wanted to rape me when a car approached. They all took to their heels. It was a painful experience. I have taken different medications and visited the hospital as well.”

PUNCH Metro was told that a day after the act, one of the victims, while passing through the area, spotted one of the suspects. She was said to have reported the matter to the police who arrested the suspect. Debby said, “We were able to recognise him because when they were raping us, he took my phone and also shouted at me to stop looking at him. We saw his face clearly. “I just want them to go to jail for what they have done to us.”

However, the two suspects - Mayowa Adeniji (21), and Riliwan Oladapo (25), said they knew nothing about the incident. Adeniji, who claimed to be an artiste, said he was at a club in the Gbagada area when the police arrested him and Oladapo. He said, “I am an artiste by profession and my stage name is D. Dot. I have released several albums that are being aired on radio stations. I have been doing music for the past 11 years and I have done collaborations with many artistes in this country.

“Though I am a street guy, I know what I am doing. On the day the police came to arrest me, I was having fun with my back-up artiste and there were five girls at my beck and call. “I didn’t know why they came to arrest me until I got to the station and saw these small girls saying we raped them. “I have never met them in my life and I don’t know what they are talking about.” Oladapo, on his part, said he was only a victim of circumstances.

A family member of the victims, Christopher Iheme, said relatives of the suspects had been begging them to let go of the matter. He, however, insisted that the family wanted justice. “We have spent a lot of money on their treatment. But that is not the issue. “It is painful for us because the 18-year-old was deflowered by the gang. “We are worried that her elder sister might be pregnant. But we will take her to the hospital for a checkup. “The families of the two suspects have been begging and asking us to name our price. But we want them punished to serve as a deterrence to others like them,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.

He said, “We have arrested the suspects and transferred them to the Department of Criminal Investigation, Panti, Yaba. “I am also aware that the detectives have taken the suspects to court.”