…Court grants bail to Kano lecturer accused of sexual harassment***
…As NSCDC arrests 2 suspected rapists in Ibadan***
The absence of three of the five students of the University
of Lagos (UNILAG), facing trial for allegedly gang-raping a student of
the institution stalled their criminal trial, on Tuesday.
The students are facing trial at an Ikeja Sexual Offences
and Domestic Violence Court for allegedly raping a 17-year-old student of
UNILAG.
The five students facing trial are: Moboluwaji Omowole, 19,
Chuka Chukwu, 19, Peace Nwankama, 19, James Aguedu, 20, and Josephine Osemeka,
20.
The male defendants – Omowole, Chukwu and Aguedo were
however, absent during proceedings, due to the inability of the officials of
the Kirikiri Medium Prisons to bring them early to court.
Justice Abiola Soladoye had stood-down proceedings at 9 a.m.
when none of the defendants was in court.
However, at about 10.23 a.m., the female defendants,
Nwankama and Osemeka were brought into the courtroom by officials of the
Kirikiri Female Prisons.
When the case was called at 10.51 a.m. for hearing, the
three male defendants were still absent in the courtroom.
Aguedu’s Defence Counsel, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), registered
his displeasure over the development.
“The court sits at 9 a.m. We, the state and citizens are
equal before the law.
“The same indulgence (standing-down the case) will not have
been granted if the situation was the reversed,” he said.
Reacting to Pedro’s submission, Dr Jide Martins, a Director
in the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and lead prosecutor in the case,
noted that the delay was not caused by the prosecution.
“The correctional services are yet to bring the defendants
to court. I do not want to speculate but one can generally assume that it is
caused by the traffic situation.
“I am not comfortable with the aspersion that is inferred
that the delay was at the instance of the prosecution.
“This is beyond our control. We have done our part. Our
witness is in court and we are ready to proceed with our case.”
According to Martins, Omowole, Chukwu and Aguedo sometime in
January and sometime in February, 2017 defiled the complainant by having
unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
“Chukwu, who lives at No. 25, Shobande St., Akoka, Yaba in January, 2017 knowingly allowed Omowole to defile the complainant by having unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
Also read: Alleged gang-rape: Lagos re-arraigns 5 UNILAG students
“Nwankama, Aguedo and Osameka between January and March 2017
were into the procuration (obtaining) of young girls for the purpose of
defilement.
“Osemeka sometime in the month of January 2017, in UNILAG,
sexually assaulted the complainant by kissing her.”
However, as a result of the absence of the three male
defendants, Soladoye adjourned the case till Dec. 3 for continuation of trial.
A prison official who spoke on condition of anonymity
however, confirmed that the absence of the defendants was as a result of heavy
traffic.
“I spoke to my colleagues at the Kirikiri Medium Prison.
They are encountering very terrible traffic in that area. That is why
there was delay in bringing them to court this morning,’’ he said.
The defendants were eventually brought to court at 11.32
a.m. by prison officials after the court had risen and concluded hearing for
the day.
According to the prosecution, the defendants committed the
offences sometime in 2017 at the Akoka Campus of UNILAG.
The complainant while testifying on Feb. 26, said that she
was lured by Nwankama who was her roommate to High Rise, a staff quarters
hostel at UNILAG.
She said she was gang-raped at High Rise by eight male
students and sexually assaulted by Osemeka.
She alleged that the gang-rape and sexual assault at High
Rise was videotaped and that she was blackmailed with the video.
She alleged that she was also gang-raped on some other
occasions by the defendants and their accomplices who are now at large.
Meanwhile, a Kano Chief Magistrate Court has granted bail to
a lecturer standing trial over alleged sexual harassment of his female student.
The 36-year-old lecturer, Ali Shehu, was granted N200,000
bail with two reliable sureties in like sum by Chief Magistrate Muhammad Idris.
He said one of the sureties must be a Senior Lecturer of
Kano State School of Technology and the second shall be the village head of
where the accused person resides.
“Both the accused and sureties shall deposit two recent
passport photographs,’’ he ordered on Tuesday.
The court had earlier fixed Oct. 15, for sentencing after
the accused pleaded guilty, but during Tuesday’s hearing, his counsel requested
for a fresh trial.
The counsel, Mr Abdullahi Ibrahim, told the court that when
the accused person was first arraigned on Oct. 8, he admitted the content of
the First Information Report without understanding it.
“We humbly apply that the content of the FIR to be read and explained
to the accused person again to give his plea in line with section 36 of the
Constitution of Nigeria for fair hearing,’’ Ibrahim said.
When the plea of the accused was again taken, he pleaded not
guilty, and his counsel urged the court to grant him bail.
“If granted bail, he will not jump bail nor will he commit
another offence and he is ready to comply with the court order.’’
Shehu, a lecturer of Kano State School of Technology, is
facing trial on a two-count charge of breach of official trust and attempt to
commit an offence, contrary to Sections 95 and 98 of the Penal Code.
The Prosecutor, ASP Badamasi Gawuna, had earlier told the
court that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 19, in Kano.
Gawuna said this followed a sting operation conducted by the
Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
He said that on the same date at about 11.00 a.m., the
accused, took one of his female students (name withheld) to Ummi Plaza in Kano,
to help him mark his students final semester examination scripts.
“In the process, the accused admitted to touching the said
victim’s private part,’’ the prosecutor said.
The chief magistrate has adjourned the case until Nov.
7, for hearing
In the meantime, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps (NSCDC), Oyo State Command, has arrested two men, Muyiwa Olatunde, 32,
and Fatai Wahab in connection with an alleged rape.
Mr Segun Oluwole, Public Relations Officer, NSCDC, disclosed
this while parading the suspects before newsmen on Tuesday in Ibadan.
He said that Olatunde was arrested in Ibadan over alleged
rape of his sister while Wahab was arrested at Igbeti, in Oke Ogun area of the
state over alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl.
Oluwole said that Olatunde confessed to the crime and claimed to have committed
the act twice with his sister.
The spokesman said that the victims were already undergoing rehabilitation while the suspects would be charged to court at the conclusion of investigation.
