The Lagos State Police Command said it had begun a full-scale investigation into the alleged rape accusation against one of its officers by a 17-year-old girl.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement on Sunday, also disclosed that the officer whose identity was yet to be disclosed had been taken into custody.
PUNCH City Round had reported on Saturday that the victim alleged that she was raped inside the Ogudu Police Station in the Ojota area of the state.
Our correspondent gathered that the officer had promised to help the teenager retrieve her phone, which had been taken by ‘one chance’ robbers on June 16 while she, her grandmother, and her siblings were returning from Ikeja.
The suspect reportedly overheard the teenager recounting her ordeal to her mother at her shop and offered to help track her missing phone and take her statement.
The victim also noted that she was invited into the suspect’s office in the guise of getting her phone but the suspect carried out the alleged act.
The mother of the victim, Aramide Olupona, had disclosed that her daughter began bleeding a day after the assault and was taken to the Mirabel Centre, adding that the incident was also reported to the authorities.
Olupona, however, accused the police of trying to bury the case, saying, “The suspect’s wife and the rest of his family have come to my shop to plead with me saying he would soon retire, but what about my daughter who was raped? Is it because I am a poor woman?”
Reacting, Hundeyin added that the alleged act contravened the code of conduct of the police and therefore assured the victim’s family and the general public that there was no attempt to cover up the incident.
He said, “The Lagos State Police Command has placed under arrest one of its personnel accused of defiling a 17-year-old girl. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Adegoke Fayoade, has directed a full-scale and thorough investigation into the allegation.
“The command assures the public that there is no attempt at a cover-up as such hideous acts are at variance with the code of conduct and professional ethics of the Nigeria Police Force.
“To this end, CP Fayoade once again assures Nigerians that the officer will be dealt with under police regulations and the law if found culpable.”
