How five UNILAG students gang-raped me serially, by 17-year-old undergraduate

An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Tuesday heard how a 17-year-old student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Akoka, Lagos (names withheld) was allegedly gang-raped by eight fellow students who also blackmailed her with a video recording of the assault.

Five of the students, Moboluwaji Omowole, 19, Chuka Chukwu, 19, Peace Nwankama, 19, James Aguedu, 20 and Osemeka Josephine, 20 were arraigned on a three-count charge of defilement of a child, permitting the defilement of a child in a premises and procuration before Justice Abiola Soladoye.

The students, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, have been remanded in Kirikiri prisons by the trial judge while others were said to be still at large.

The lead state prosecutor, Mrs. K.A Momoh-Ayokambi, said the defendants alongside others committed the offences in January 2017 at the premises of UNILAG, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.

Led in evidence by Momoh-Ayokambi, the survivor told the court that she became friends with Nwankama (the third defendant) who was her roommate when she moved into the school hostel at the inception of the 2016/2017 academic session.

She alleged that it was Nwankama, who lured her to be gang raped by the defendants, who was one of the three friends she made while sharing same room with her in the hostel.

She said they were close to the extent that Nwankama introduced her to her parents on their matriculation day held January 13 to 17, 2017.

Narrating her ordeal, the survivor told the court, one day, Nwankama called me on the phone and asked if she wanted to hang out with another boy called Yinka, one of those now at large,  at High Rise, a staff quarters UNILAG.

She said when replied that she would think about it, the third defendant cut the phone and called back.

She said instead of her, it was Yinka, who was talking to her and explained that it was a hangout for friends and that her room-mate, Nwankama would be there.

She said that at that time, she let go of her guard, and agreed to the invitation.

She said since she doesn’t know where High Rise was located, Yinka and Peace told her to meet them at Jaja Hall.

She said when they got to High Rise, she was led to a small building where she met Seriki (now at large) and a group of boys but was assured by Yinka that her friend, Nwakama Peace will join them.

According to her, James led her up a flight of stairs into a room where she met other boys who had come upstairs.

She said when she entered the room, she met two boys and a girl  including Emmanuel, now at large, and Josephine, the fifth defendant, inside the room.

“When James and Seriki entered the room, Josephine and the two boys left and at this point it was clear to me that Peace was not in High Rise.

“Yinka then asked me to have sex with him, I said no but he continued forcefully persisting and removing my clothes at this point, two other people who were looking into the room entered the room and held me down while Yinka had forceful sex with me,” she narrated.

The survivor who told the court that eight men raped her in turns, listed her aggressors who allegedly took turns to rape to include Daniel, James, Yinka, Bolu (first defendant), Seriki, Emmanuel and two others whose names she couldn’t remember.

She said she was further subjected to series of sexual assault by some of the defendants and their accomplices.

“After they did that they all came into the room including Josephine and they started playing music, four people held me down and were touching me all around while Josephine was either kissing or dancing with one of them”.

She said all her thoughts were on how to escape from the scene but failed because her aggressors outnumbered her and because she does not know if those downstairs were part of them.

She said while all these were going on, there was a guy who was video recording all that was happening on a phone.

“I had the urge to get the phone from him but I thought I was outnumbered,” she said.

She said when they were through, they led her outside the building and told her they had a video of what happened and that if she doesn’t want “to be popular” in school, she must answer them anytime they wanted to have sex.

She told the court that between one and two weeks after the alleged incident, she was subjected to more gang raping and sexual assault by the members of the group and have by then included Simi, Randy, Idowu and Eddy (who are all at large).

She said some of the assaults and defilement occurred at Chukwu’s (second defendants) parents’ house Pako area of Yaba and later rumours about the video tape began to make rounds in the school premises.

The survivor said a friend hers who found out about her ordeal brought the incident to the attention of the school authorities.

She said with the assistance of the university counsellor, the first defendant, Omowole,  was lured to a place within the school premises where he was arrested, taken to the office of the Dean Student Affairs and later provided the names of his alleged accomplices.

The student said she was admitted at the UNILAG Medical Centre for three days where the parents of the arrested students tried soliciting her not to do anything about the case.

“From the Medical Center, I went home and stayed for three weeks, during that time their parents were trying to bribe my family with between N3million to N5million but my family declined as my mother and brothers were very supportive,” she said.

She stated further those who allegedly raped her went to the same secondary school called ISL but couldn’t give the full name of the secondary school.

Justice Soladoye has adjourned the case until March 18.