Police officials from the Maroko division have arrested a 30-year-old Estate Management graduate of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Imonitie Ilen-Otuma, for allegedly raping a 27-year-old woman in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
The suspect initially took the victim, Precious (pseudonym) to see a movie at the Adeniran Ogunsanya Mall, in the Surulere area before they proceeded to the party where he violated and defiled her after she insisted on going home around 12 am on Friday, July 10, 2015.
He was said to have lured Precious to the backseat of his car where he squeezed her throat and raped her subsequently.
Ilen-Otuma was arrested after the victim reported the matter to her family via a text message before they alerted the police.
Narrating the ordeal to Punch, the victim’s mother said the suspect allegedly threatened to strangle her daughter and dump her corpse by the roadside, despite her pleas to him that she was a virgin.
She said, “My daughter is a sickle cell sufferer. She met Imonitie in the university. He was a year ahead of her. They started dating, but my daughter warned him that there would be no sex until they got married. Later, she learnt that the man had dated one of her friends, which Imonitie confirmed. So, since that time, they ended the relationship.
“The week that the incident happened, she said both of them met again on BBM, and he started persuading her to let them go out again. On that Friday, he called her and said he was taking her to see a movie.
“After the movie, they went clubbing in the Lekki area, where he raped her. She told us that she was not feeling strong. She said she remembered being walked out of the club to the back of Imonitie’s car.
“But when she opened her eyes, it was daytime, and he was on top of her at the back of the car. That was when the struggle started. He beat her up, squeezed her neck, while she begged him that she was a virgin, and he should not rape her. But he ignored her pleas and after the act, he gave her some tissues to clean the blood.”
Also speaking about the incident, the suspect’s mothet said her son loved the lady and wanted to marry her.
She said, “My son has told me that he loves the girl and wants to marry her. He is AA, and the girl is SS. So, they are compatible. He did not mean to kill her as claimed. If he wanted to, would he still drive her home after the incident? I am not justifying his actions, but he was tempted to commit the act. His intention is to marry the girl.”
It was gathered that the matter had been reported to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team.
Confirming the incident, the state police spokesperson, DSP Kenneth Nwosu said, “The suspect is with us, and the matter is being investigated at the SDCI, Yaba.”
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Ilen-Otuma would be arrested for rape offence as he was recently released after the family of his colleague who he also defiled agreed to withdraw the case.
