A staff of Mobil Producing Nigeria (ExxonMobil), a multinational oil and gas corporation, identified simply as James, has allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
James, an engineer, who is also the landlord of the house where the victim’s guardians live, gave the girl N1, 000 to pacify her after the incident and cautioned her against revealing what transpired between them, The Punch reports.
On the contrary, the three-year-old daughter of the tenant, who witnessed the rape, was said to have exposed the suspect and the case was subsequently reported at the Langbasa Police Division from where the victim was taken to a medical centre in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
According to reports, the test result showed that there was a forceful penetration, while semen was also recovered from the victim’s private parts.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect had been arrested and the case transferred to Zone 2 Command, Onikan.
She said, “The police have arrested the man and he has been taken to Zone 2 because a petition was also sent to Zone 2 on the matter.”
Meanwhile, a human rights organization, Women Association of The Good People, which reportedly took up the case, urged the authorities to give justice to the victim.
The group in a statement said the incident happened last Monday while the tenant, who was the victim’s uncle, was away from home.
“On Monday, January 4, 2016, Mr. James, who works with ExxonMobil and who is also a landlord of a property on the Lagos Island, raped a 14-year-old who happened to be the niece of his tenant.
“He decided to visit the home of his tenant who had advised him earlier that they wouldn’t be at home. Only the 14-year-old niece and their three-year-old daughter were at home on that faithful day.
“James knocked on the door of the flat and was attended to by the 14-year-old who told the landlord that her uncle and aunt were not home. He, however, insisted on entering the home of his tenant to wait for them.
“The naive girl, who had only been in Lagos for three weeks, opened the door and allowed him in,” the statement added.
The suspect was said to have checked round the house and realizing that the victim’s custodians were not at home, he was said to have started a conversation with the victim, asking for her name, age and other details.
“James pushed the young girl on the bed and, while she tried to scream, he covered her mouth and forcefully had his way with her in the presence of the three-year-old.
“In a bid to console her after the act, he gave her N1, 000 and left.
“Her aunt came home and met her hysterical and inconsolable. After asking repeatedly what happened and the girl was unable to answer, the three-year-old daughter recounted the story to her mother, saying, ‘Mummy, landlord came, he pushed ‘the unidentified’ on the bed and he do like this…like this… on top of her,’ describing to her mum and innocently recreating the movements she saw,” the statement added.
A medical report was said to have been obtained the following morning, which confirmed a case of rape.
The woman (the victim’s aunt) was said to have reported to her husband, before the case was reported at the police station.
The suspect was, however, said to be at large and did not respond to police invitation.
The statement further read, “As of January 8, James failed to report to the police station at 9am as he had promised. Instead, he called the victim’s family (his tenants) repeatedly and tried to convince them to meet him. His calls prior to this were threats to evict them.
“We are concerned citizens saddened by the incident, which numerous bodies are also aware of. But the suspect is yet to be apprehended,” the statement said.
The Manager, Media and Communications, Mobil Producing Nigeria, Oge Udeagha, reacting to the claims against its staff, said the company was aware of the matter.
An email from Udeagha reads in part, “Mobil Producing Nigeria, operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC/MPN Joint Venture, confirms that the police authorities on January 11, 2016, notified it of an alleged case of defilement brought against one of our personnel that is unrelated to his duties with the company.
“MPN promptly notified the employee of the police invitation and advised he make himself available to the authorities as requested.
“MPN has the highest regards for the law and has offered assurances of our full support with investigations, if required, to police authorities. We understand he is already cooperating with the police.”
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