TWO teenagers have been arrested by the police for allegedly gang-raping a 17-year-old girl and recording the act on their phones in Oyo State.
The two friends, after raping the victim, were said to have sent the video of the sexual act to another friend, who demanded sex from the girl so as not to upload the film on social media.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Adewale Osifeso, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday night said that the three friends were among 30 suspected criminals arrested by the Command.
The statement read, “On the October 24, 2022 at about 12pm, the victim, (name withheld) ‘f’ 17yrs visited her friend Joshua Adegoke ‘m’ age 18 years at his residence where she met one Peter Akintunde ‘m’, age 18 years.
“At Joshua’s place, she was given a bottle of soft drink after which she was invited to his room for sex an offer which she declined. In a bid to salvage what she sensed was becoming a trouble, she innocently asked Peter, Joshua’s friend to prevail on his friend but instead Peter advised her to offer Joshua what he demanded.
“At this point, both friends took turns to forcefully and unlawfully have carnal knowledge of their victim while simultaneously recording the act. After this, Joshua deliberately transferred the video footage to another friend, one Oluwanjoba Adetona, who also reached out to the victim demanding for sex in exchange for not uploading the footage on social media.
“The suspects have voluntarily confessed to the crime and are helping with the investigation.”
The police spokesman said 27 other suspects were arrested for various criminal activities including kidnapping and robbery.
A locally made pistol and ammunitions were recovered by the police in the course of the arrests.
The Oyo State Police Command also warned against plans to cause a breakdown of law and order in the state.
The statement added: “In the same vein, the Command’s focus shall be beamed on correctional facilities, banks, media houses, schools, public infrastructures, major landmarks, business districts, places of worship and recreational facilities.
“Parents, guardians and leaders wielding degrees of influence are advised to prevail on their children, wards and protégés against being used as canon-fodders for the process as decisive actions would be taken on anyone caught disrupting the enviable level of relative tranquility enjoyed in the state.”
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.