The Lagos State Police Command announced that it has launched a thorough investigation into the 17-year-old girl’s reported rape complaint against one of its policemen.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s public relations officer, revealed in a statement on Sunday that the officer, whose identity was not yet known, had been taken into custody.
It was reported on Saturday that the victim claimed to have been sexually assaulted within the Ogudu Police Station in the Ojota area of the state.
According to information obtained, the teenager, her grandmother, and her siblings were coming from Ikeja on June 16 when “one chance” bandits took her phone. The officer had pledged to assist the kid in getting her phone back.
At her shop, the teenage girl was telling her mother about her ordeal when the suspect allegedly overheard and offered to assist the girl find the missing phone and take her statement.
The victim added that the suspect performed the alleged crime even though she was welcomed into his office under the pretence of collecting her phone.
The victim’s mother, Aramide Olupona, revealed that her daughter started to bleed a day after the assault and was taken to the Mirabel Center. She also mentioned that the event was reported to the police.
Olupona, however, accused the police of trying to bury the case, saying, “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 who was raped? Is it because I am a poor woman?”
In response, Hundeyin stated that the reported behaviour was against the police code of conduct. As a result, he gave the public and the victim’s family the reassurance that the occurrence was not being concealed.
He said, “The Lagos State Police Command has placed under arrest one of its personnel accused of defiling a 17-year-old girl. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Adegoke Fayoade, has directed a full-scale and thorough investigation into the allegation.
“The command assures the public that there is 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 will be dealt with under police regulations and the law if found culpable.”
