A man, currently observing his one year National Youth Service Corps, Soji Ezekiel, has been arrested by the Police in Osun State for allegedly raping an undergraduate of Osun State University, Osogbo.
The female victim (name withheld) was said to have gone to Soji’s room behind Nawarudeen Primary School, Oke-Baale area, Osogbo Local Government Area of the state to charge her phone when Soji allegedly took advantage of the power outage in the area to forcefully force her to bed.
The Point gathered that the student lives off-campus and had gone to charge her phone in Soji’s apartment with her friend on the night of Friday, February 16, 2024.
After the two ladies got into the suspect’s place, the victim’s friend reportedly left the room immediately after plugging her phone to attend to other things but before she could return to check her phone, her friend had been screaming in the room as Soji, also known as SOJ, allegedly raped her twice.
The corps member, who was said to be serving in Ilorin, Kwara State, but often visits Osogbo whenever he is on break, allegedly threatened to kill the victim with a bottle if she fails to allow him satisfy his sexual desire.
It was further learnt that the suspect refused to open his door when neighbours were banging it repeatedly and trying to rescue the female undergraduate.
According to a witness account, it was after a vigilante officer in the area visited Soji’s apartment with a gun and shot into the air, that the suspect opened the door and freed the victim in the wee hours of Saturday, February 17.
A team of policemen later arrived at the scene and arrested Soji.
Some residents notified a human rights activist, Citizen Lola Wey who followed the matter up and brought it to the attention of the state government.
“The victim had been taken to the hospital for necessary medical examination and treatment. The police are already involved and they arrested the suspect. However, I heard they have granted him bail. But, we will assist the victim in getting justice because she was highly traumatized by the incident,” Wey told The Point.
When The Point contacted Soji on the telephone to get his own side of the story, he neither admitted nor denied the accusations, saying the State Criminal Investigation Department had taken over the matter.
He said, “The case is already with the State CID and we are on it. I met with their lawyer (victim’s lawyer) and we went to the hospital for a medical test and the police were there. So, now, I don’t think I have anything to say unless we are with the police. The police are doing their job.”
