The police spokesperson said the state police commissioner, CP Adegoke Fayoade, directed a full-scale and thorough investigation into the allegation.
The Lagos State Police Command says it has commenced an investigation into the alleged defilement of a teenage girl by one of its officers.
The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who made this known in a statement issued on Sunday said the accused officer attached to the Ogudu Police Station in Ojota area of the state has been placed under arrest.
The police spokesperson said the state police commissioner, CP Adegoke Fayoade, directed a full-scale and thorough investigation into the allegation.
“The Command assures the public that there is absolutely no attempt at a cover-up as such hideous acts are at variance with the code of conduct and professional ethics of the Nigeria Police Force.
“To this end, CP Fayoade once again assures Nigerians that the officer would be dealt with in accordance with police regulations and the law if found culpable,” he said.
The officer allegedly defiled the 17-year-old girl inside his office at the station after he promised to help the victim retrieve her missing phone.
The victim's phone was stolen from her by ‘one-chance’ robbers on June 16 while she, her grandmother, and siblings were returning from Ikeja.
It was reported that the police officer overheard the girl telling her mother at her shop how she lost the phone and offered to help her track the missing phone and take her statement.
The PUNCH quoted the victim as saying, “On June 29, officer Owolabi called my mum on her phone and told her he had arrested the person with my phone and my mum should send me to his police station and I went there.
“On getting there, I was told they made a mistake with the tracking, and that the person caught wasn’t the one with my phone.
“The officer sent his personal assistant to call me into his office and he showed me directions there. When I entered his office and greeted him, he replied and got up to lock the door and put the key in his pocket. I shouted, ‘Sir, why did you lock the door?’
“He started trying to pull my clothes off and I shouted, then he brought out a gun, cocked it, and threatened to shoot me if I shouted. Then he began harassing me and when I struggled with him, he hit me on the back of my head with the gun and raped me.
“I saw his phone ringing and the caller was my mum, but he told me since I didn’t have a phone with me, I should tell her I didn’t get to his office and from now on I should be reporting at his office by 12 pm every day during school break or while returning from school that he had been watching me for two years and now I just fell into his trap.”
Also, the victim’s mother, Mrs Aramide Olupona, said her daughter started bleeding the day after the rape and was taken to the Mirabel Centre.
Mrs. Olupona said that the case was also reported to the police authorities, but alleged that the police tried to cover up the case.
She said, “The suspect’s wife and the rest of his family have come to my shop to plead with me saying he would soon retire, but what about my daughter that was raped? Is it because I am a poor woman?
“The Area Commander of the station too invited me and pleaded with me to bury the case, now they are saying the suspect has fled and his whereabouts are unknown, but my daughter is distraught and has said she wants to commit suicide. My girl needs justice.”
A copy of a referral letter dated July 1, 2024, and addressed to the state police commissioner, Fayoade, by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, read in part, “Our office refers 17-year-old (name withheld) to you for your kind assistance. A mandated reporter alleged that the girl was defiled by a police officer, who works with Ogudu Police Station, Ojota on Saturday, June 29, 2024.
“The allegations levied against the officer constitute the offenses of defilement, sexual assault, and indecent practices punishable under the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State (2015) and the Criminal Law of Lagos State (2015). We would appreciate it if this case is handled with the utmost urgency.”