Two sisters, Essiet, 18, and 20-year-old Debby (pseudonyms), have been r*ped by a gang of six men who were said to have accosted them in the Bariga area of Lagos State. According to Punch, the victims were returning from a hospital in the Oworonsoki area last Thursday when they were attacked by the suspects. It was learnt that while Essiet was deflowered by four men, her elder sister, Debby, was ravished by two of the hoodlums. When Punch visited the scene of the incident on Ogundero/Dahomey streets on Wednesday, the people in the area said they were not aware. Some of those who spoke said they were not living in the area, but only ran their trade on the streets. However, it was learnt from a source that the matter was reported at the Bariga Police Station and two of the suspects had been arrested. Punch spoke with Essiet who described her experience as a nightmare. She said, “It happened on May 21 around 11pm. My sister and I went to give food to a family member who had just given birth to a baby in Oworonsoki. We were returning in the night when we saw the men. They had guns, cutlasses and other weapons. “They waylaid us and said if we shouted they would kill us. They took us to a spot around Dahomey junction and r*ped us.” The elder sister, Debby, described the incident as painful. She said she wanted the suspects punished and their accomplices, who were still at large, arrested. She said, “Two of them r*ped me, while four r*ped my sister. The third man wanted to r*pe me when a car approached. They all took to their heels. It was a painful experience. I have taken different medications and visited the hospital as well.” A day after the act, one of the victims, while passing through te area, spotted one of the suspects. She was said to have reported the matter to the police, who arrested the suspect. Debby said, “We were able to recognise him because when they were r*ping us, he took my phone and also shouted at me to stop looking at him. We saw his face clearly." But the suspects - Mayowa Adeniji (21), and Riliwan Oladapo (25) - said they knew nothing about it. Adeniji, who claimed to be an artiste, said he was at a club in the Gbagada area when the police arrested him and Oladapo. He said, “I am an artiste by profession and my stage name is D. Dot. I have released several albums that are being aired on radio stations. I have been doing music for the past 11 years and I have done collaborations with many artistes in this country. “Though I am a street guy, I know what I am doing. On the day the police came to arrest me, I was having fun with my back- up artiste and there were five girls at my beck and call. “I didn’t know why they came to arrest me until I got to the station and saw these small girls saying we r*ped them. I have never met them in my life and I don’t know what they are talking about.” Who do we believe now? Could it be that the guy is just denying or the girl made a mistake? *Sigh*
