A 24-yr-old woman (name withheld) narrated to an Ikeja
Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 about
how she was allegedly drugged in a nightclub and gang-raped in a hotel in
Lekki, Lagos.
Led in evidence by Dr Jide Martins, Director of Public
Prosecutions, Lagos State, the witness told the court that she was invited to
Kabaal Nightclub situated at Ikoyi, Lagos, by George who was her friend.
The alleged rape victim who testified for 90 minutes said:
“Initially, I did not want to go, I was hesitant, I told Chima but he insisted
I come. He also said that his birthday was a few days away and he was to
celebrate it.
“I agreed. That was not the first time we had gone out
together as friends so there was nothing out of the ordinary. He asked me to
meet him at the De-Lankaster Hotel. We were supposed to leave from there to the
club.
“I got there because I knew where it was. Segun Razak was
there in Chima’s room already; I waited a few minutes for everyone to get
ready, and we left the hotel to go to the club.
“We got there, nothing out of the ordinary happened; while
at the club, at about 4a.m., I told Chima I was tired and wanted to go home.”
She told the court that George allegedly gave her a glass
of Hennessey and Coca Cola to drink, saying that the drink was the only one she
had at the club before she dropped off George at the De-Lankaster Hotel.
“I drove and Chima was in the car with me, and I had to
drop him at the hotel. Segun Razak drove his car and had his friends in his
car. We made a few stops at Automated Teller Machines to get some money for the
Lekki Toll Gate.
“From there, we proceeded to the hotel, when we got there,
I proceeded to say hello to the other occupants of Segun’s car.
“When I went into the reception area, I found a mutual
friend of ours called Foluso; he was pretty drunk. Being the person that I am,
I decided not to let him stay in the reception area. I helped him and took him
up to Chima’s room.
“I knocked on the door and I did not hear anyone answer,
but I opened the door because the door was already open because the door was
bad.
“I got my friend inside the room and put him on the bed.
After I got him on the bed, I kept talking to him to make sure that he was
okay.
“While he was lying down, I was watching a movie on my
phone and from that moment, I do not recollect anything because I passed out,
which was out of the ordinary because I usually remember when I fall asleep,”
she said.
The witness was still in shock as she broke down in tears,
narrating how, in her state of mind, she was allegedly raped by George and
Razak.
She said: “My next recollection after passing out was being
in a state that I wasn’t in ordinarily. I felt drunk but I knew I wasn’t
because I did not drink enough to make me drunk.
“I felt weak and I could feel hands grabbing me and I could
also hear a voice in the room which I knew to be Chima’s voice and I felt Segun
on top of me having sex with me.
“I felt his (Segun) dreadlocks on my body because he had
dreadlocks. I remember trying to push him off as he was touching me. He was
touching my breasts and I could feel another pair of hands on my thighs.
“I blacked out and came up again a second time and I could
feel somebody fingering me. I knew I heard Chima’s voice and I couldn’t recall
what he was saying, and I felt myself being penetrated again. I tried my best
to say no.
“I believe it was Chima who penetrated me again. I believe
it was Chima because I heard him asking if I was awake after all of that; I
blacked out again, and at that point, I knew both of them had had sex with me.
“I was in a state where I was not conscious but I had a
sense that I could hear them. I woke up around 7a.m. When I woke up, I was
confused and I was trying to recall what happened.
“I did not consent to the penetration, I am 100 percent
sure I am not in a relationship with both of them.”
The witness said that when she woke up, she confronted
George who denied any form of sexual relations between them.
“I could feel my vagina sore; I knew that a sexual act had
happened. When I woke up, Chima was in the room with me; he was sitting in a
chair opposite the bed. He was on his phone.
“I asked, `Chima what happened last night?’ He said,
`Nothing’. By this time, Segun Razak was not present in the room. I asked the
second time, and he said, `Nothing’. I asked him straight, `Did we have sex
last night?’
“He said, ‘No’ and I told him: `If we didn’t, why is my
underwear (pant) not on?’ He did not say anything. I started looking for my
underwear.
“I was thinking that this is my friend, he would not do
that to me. I finally found my underwear under the duvet, I grabbed it, grabbed
my wig and car keys and went downstairs,” she said.
The witness said that she left the hotel in tears, shocked
and confused, and did not want to go home in her traumatised state.
The witness told the court that she informed her trusted
friend called Musa and his girlfriend, Seyi, about the alleged incident.
“Musa was angry, he asked me where the hotel was. At first,
I did not want to tell him, I just wanted to go home and forget it ever
happened but he told me I cannot let them get away with it.
“He informed his older sister, Bisoye, and they all rallied
and went to the hotel. They went with a police escort to the hotel. When we got
there, I stayed inside the car and they went to get them inside the hotel.
“Musa’s car was tinted so they did not know I was in the
car, they brought them out so I could see them but they could not see me.
“I could hear them being questioned. They did not verbalise
that they did it but I could tell from their body language that they knew they were
caught.
“When these were going on, people started coming outside,”
she said.
The woman told the court that she went to Maroko Police
Station where Musa, Bisoye and her made statements. On February 5, 2019, the
case was reported to the Gender Unit of the state police command.
She said that she went to the Amethyst Hospital, Lekki, and
the Mirabel Center, for medical examination.
The woman testified that her friends who reported the
alleged crime were victimised by the families of the defendants.
“They asked me to drop the case but even after asking me to
drop the case, they went ahead to arrest my friend.
“I feel betrayed most especially by Chima. You were
supposed to be my friend. I have no personal relationship with Segun Razak, I
only know him as Chima’s friend.
“I have never been to Segun’s house; I have never met his
parents or his other family members. I knew Chima as a friend, I have met his
dad, I remember his father telling me how he thought I was a good influence on
him.
“For all these to happen, I feel hurt, I feel betrayed,”
she said.
According to NAN, the defendants were alleged by the police
to have committed the offences on Feb. 3, from 5.00a.m. to 7.00a.m. at
De-Lankaster Hotels, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
When they were at the nightclub, the suspects allegedly
mixed the woman's drink with a substance that made her go unconscious.
The case was however adjourned by Justice Abiola Soladoye
until June 13 for continuation of trial.
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