A 16-year-old girl, Barakat Mayowa, has accused the Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun Abdul-Balogun, of sexual harassment which allegedly occurred at Ita Otu, Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state.
Mayowa recounted that the sexual harassment occurred on Thursday, December 31, in the commissioner’s apartment, where he allegedly fondled her breasts and muttered incantations while she screamed and struggled to free herself from his grip.
The victim, in her statement to the police at the Abigi Division, narrated that the commissioner’s aides lured her to his house and to his bedroom, after which the commissioner came in and bolted the door.
In the video recording, believably done by a police investigator and obtained by SaharaReporters, the victim, a Senior Secondary School 3 student, added that the commissioner allegedly caressed her body, while offering her money.
She said she resisted the money and screamed, before she was eventually allowed to go.
Mayowa said, “What transpired between me and honourable (the commissioner) is that on December 29, which was a Tuesday, I was on my way to register for my National Identity Number. So, I came across the man who happened to be a commissioner at the Waterside Park. I was with a friend.
“So, he called me and said he knew me from somewhere. I said no, he said, maybe I resembled someone he knew. He asked where I was living and I told him. Then I left. He sent a young man after me to get my number. I said no, that my father’s elder brother stays in the park and that he should get my number from him.
“There was another Austin, a friend, who teaches at a government grammar school. They know the guy. So, the guy gave them my number. It was the commissioner who sent them to get my number.
“On December 31, one Mr Lasisi came to my grandparents’ place in the area, and said he knew someone who needed a computer operator and asked if I knew how to operate a computer. I said yes. Then he said I should get dressed and that we would go together to the place.
“When we got there, it was the honourable’s house. A lady, Maryam Odunnuga, came to pick me and took me into a living room. Mr Austin now came out and asked me to come over to a room. The honourable now came inside and Mr Austin went outside immediately.”
The teenager narrated further that the commissioner tried to entice her with money to get a chance to sleep with her but she resisted.
She said, “The honourable locked the door instantly and put the key in his pocket. So, he moved close to me and asked for the name of my school. He also asked for the amount I was paying as school fees, I replied by saying N30,000. He asked me who was paying my school fees, I told him my daddy. He said if I had thought of starting a business before going to school.
“I said I wanted to go to a higher institution. Then he said if I would need some money now, how much would I need? I said, any amount. He said I should state an amount. He now moved closer and pressed (fondled) my breasts. So, I moved his hand away. He now said won’t I cooperate. He now started pressing (fondling) my breasts and my body.
“I was struggling to free myself from him. Then he started reciting some incantations. He wanted to touch my head. I now moved his hand away so that he should not touch my head. He now wanted to force me inside his bathroom.
“But I struggled with him and started shouting. He did not want people around his house to know what was going on. He now left me and gave him four, N500 notes, that is N2,000 as my transport fare. I rejected the money.
“He said if I didn’t collect the money, he would not let me go. So, I collected it. He now asked Austin to drop me in our house. I want Nigerians to help me to take up this matter against him. This had never happened to me in my life. Right now, I am so shocked. I had never been harassed like that in my life.”
(SR. Photo: SR)