Owolabi Akinlolu, the Deputy Superintendent of Police at the Ogudu Police Station in Lagos State, was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl at his office at the Ogudu Police Division and was allegedly retired from service in secret before his case was heard in court on Tuesday.
This falls short of the expectations of rights campaigners, the traumatized victim, and her family, who expected the suspect to be fired from service and prosecuted after the investigation was completed.
Chronicle NG reported in July 2024 that the survivor’s mother, Mrs. Aramide Olupona, accused the police of attempting to cover up the case, claiming that the suspect’s wife and family had pleaded with her to drop the charges, claiming Akinlolu was due to retire in December.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, they accused the Nigeria Police Force of deliberately prolonging both the probe and the suspect’s arraignment until after his scheduled retirement in December 2024, allegedly to grant him a soft landing.
Akinlolu had reportedly called the teenager to his office on June 29, 2024, claiming that the suspect who had stolen her phone two weeks earlier had been apprehended. However, upon her arrival at the police station, the senior officer allegedly locked his office door and raped her.
In an interview with PUNCH Metro on Wednesday, an insider familiar with the investigation alleged that the police “deliberately allowed him to retire from service before initiating his prosecution.”
The source also revealed that the suspect was not dismissed from the force, stating that the officers handling the case in Lagos argued that “it was beyond the state command’s jurisdiction since the suspect was a senior police officer.”
He said, “They transferred the case to the Force headquarters in Abuja. It was Abuja that gave them directives on the investigation. Now, they are saying the completion of the investigation did not come before December. They are claiming it came after December,” the insider added.
A member of the victim’s family (name withheld) made a similar accusation before Magistrate O.O. Fagboun ordered the suspect’s remand at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre on Tuesday.
Another credible source privy to the case who did not want to be mentioned for fear of retribution stated that the suspect allegedly pointed a gun at the survivor’s head before committing the crime, accusing the police of not mentioning it in the charges.
A document obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday, containing the survivor’s account of the incident, corroborated the earlier claim.
“We are supposed to be seeing attempted murder or a threat to life because the man allegedly defiled the girl at gunpoint. It appears the police deliberately chose to be lenient on one of theirs,” the source lamented. Our correspondent also noted that it was not included in the charges against the suspect.
As of the time of filing this report, no response had been received regarding Akinlolu’s alleged retirement after our correspondent contacted the Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, and the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday but had yet to receive a reply.
However, speaking about her ordeal in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, the victim said her “state of mind has not been the best.
“I am constantly scared, especially when I see police officers. Even when I’m just walking on the road and spot them, I feel terrified,” she told our correspondent.
The victim bemoaned that the traumatic experience had strained her relationships with friends, admitting, “We’ve lost trust in the police. There’s nothing that would make us go to them for help now.”
She also revealed that her family, especially her mother, is still struggling with the trauma.
“I’m not the first person he’s done this to, but I am determined to be the last. I hope we get the justice we deserve and that I can find peace within myself,” the survivor told our correspondent in an interview on Tuesday.
