Two men, 41-year-old Festus Femi, a father of two and a 51-year-old bursar of Government Secondary School, Dangara, Abaji-Abuja, Luke Ekundayo, have been arrested by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for allegedly raping seven teenage girls, aged between 12 and 15.
The first suspect, Femi, from Ondo State, was arrested by officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and handed over to NAPTIP for allegedly raping six girls aged between 12 and 15 years, including a 13-year-old, who attempted to commit suicide after the incident.
Ekundayo, from Ilorin in Kwara State, is accused of drugging, raping and impregnating a 15-year-old pupil handed over to him for protection.
Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of NAPTIP, Stella Nezan, made this known in a statement.
She said: “Operatives of NAPTIP have arrested a 41-year-old, Festus Femi, an installation engineer, for alleged rape of three pupils of the same secondary school and on different occasions.
“The suspect, who hails from Ondo State, is married and has two children. He lives in Bwari Area Council of Abuja. His wife and children live in Ondo State. He was apprehended by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and thereafter referred to NAPTIP for further investigations and prosecution.
“The first victim, a 13 year-old Junior Secondary School 2 pupil in one of the secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory, lives with her parents in Bwari. The victim stated that she met Femi through her classmate, who asked her in school to escort her to Femi’s house, and claimed he was her uncle. On getting to the house, her classmate and Femi went out briefly and when they returned, she told the victim that Femi wanted to have sex with her. The victim’s refusal and pleas of being a virgin fell on deaf ears. Femi increased the volume of his sound system and raped her in the presence of her friend. He threatened to kill her if she tells anyone. This left the victim so distraught that she attempted to commit suicide.
“The second victim is a 12-year-old Junior Secondary School 2 pupil, who lives with her aunt in Bwari. The same classmate took her to Femi’s house and told her that Femi wanted to have sex with her. When she refused, Femi gave them money and told them to visit some other time. One fateful day, she was on her way to her classmate’s house and met Femi on the way; he invited her to his house and raped her while she was waiting for her friend.
“The third victim, a 15-year-old girl, is the same person that introduced the other two victims to him. She said Femi was her neighbour and each time he had sex with her, he gave her N500. He also told her to bring girls for him. That he would give her N3,000. She said she had so far brought five girls to him, whose ages range from 12 to 15. “
“In a related development, a 51-year-old bursar of Government Secondary School, Dangara, Abaji-Abuja, was also arrested by NAPTIP officials for allegedly drugging, raping and impregnating a 15-year-old pupil.
The suspect, Luke Gabriel Ekundayo, from Ilorin, Kwara State, was the victim’s guardian in school, and she spent short holidays in his house. The victim, a Senior Secondary 3 (SS3) pupil took ill in Ekundayo’s house. Upon taking some drugs administered to her by the suspect, she passed out. When she woke up, she saw bloodstains and said she felt uneasy, but did not suspect that the school bursar, whom her grandmother handed her over to for protection, could do anything sinister to her.
“The victim, an orphan who was on scholarship, was threatened by the suspect into having sex with him continuously, or he would tell her sponsors to stop paying her school fees. The rape continued until the victim got pregnant.
“Reacting to the news of the arrest, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, condemned the actions of the two men.”
She said: “Rapists will be prosecuted for their crime against humanity and NAPTIP will not hesitate to bring the full wrath of the law on any rapist.
“She further frowned at the high rate of rape in the society, and cautioned school girls to be careful of the kind of friends they keep, saying a lot of teenagers are led astray by fellow teenagers, who are unfortunately victims of the crime themselves.
“The DG also admonished parents to ‘be careful of who they entrust their children with, as it is unfortunate that the people who are meant to protect the children are the ones who end up exploiting and abusing them’
“The NAPTIP boss hailed the efforts of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for apprehending and referring the case to the agency for proper prosecution. She used the opportunity to call on the public to report any rape case within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to NAPTIP.”