The National Agency for the Prohibition Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested 41-year-old Festus Femi, an engineer, for the alleged rape of three school pupils of the same secondary school at different occasions.
Preliminary findings revealed that the suspect, who hails from Ondo State, is married with two children and lives in Bwari Area Council of Abuja. His wife and children live in Ondo State. He was apprehended by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and, thereafter, referred to NAPTIP for further investigations and prosecution.
A statement released in Abuja, yesterday, by NAPTIP spokesperson, Stella Nezan, indicated that the first victim is a 13- year-old JSS 2 pupil in one of the secondary schools in Abuja, and she lives with her parents in Bwari.
She disclosed to the investigation team that she met Festus through her classmate (name withheld), who asked her to accompany her to Festus’ house, claiming that he was her uncle.
On getting to the house, her classmate and Festus went out briefly, and on their return, she told the victim that Festus wanted to have sex with her. The victim’s refusal and pleas of being a virgin fell on deaf ears. Festus turned the volume of his sound system very high and raped her in the presence of her friend. He further threatened to kill her if she tells anyone. The experience left the victim so distraught that she attempted suicide.
The second victim is a 12-year-old JSS 2 student who lives with her aunt in Bwari. The same classmate took her to Festus’ house and told her that Festus wanted to have sex with her.
When she refused, Festus gave them money and told them to visit some other time. On a fateful day, she was on her way to her classmate’s house and met Festus on the way. He invited her to his house and raped her while she was waiting for her friend.
The third victim, a 15-year-old girl, is the same person that introduced the other two victims to him. She said that Festus was her former neighbour and he gives her N500 each time he had sex with her.
She said that Festus had told her to bring more girls for him and he would give her N3000. She stated that so far, she had brought five girls to him, ranging from 12 to 15 years. She further corroborated the first victim’s story on the rape and threat to life.
In a related development, a 51-year-old bursar of Government Secondary School, Dangara, Abaji- Abuja, was also arrested by NAPTIP officials for allegedly drugging, raping and impregnating a 15-year-old student.
The suspect, Luke Gabriel Ekundayo, from Ilorin, Kwara State, was the victim’s guardian in school, and she spent short holidays in his house.
The victim, an SS3 student, took ill in Ekundayo’s house, and upon taking some drugs administered to her by the suspect, she passed out. On waking up, she saw bloodstains and said she felt uneasy, but did not suspect that the bursar, whom her grandmother handed her over to, for protection, could do anything sinister to her.
The victim, an orphan, who was on scholarship, was threatened by the suspect into having sex with him continuously or he would tell her sponsors to stop paying her school fees. The rape continued until the victim got pregnant.
NAPTIP Director-General, Julie Okah-Donli, condemned the actions of the two men.
She said: “Rapists would be prosecuted for their crime against humanity, and NAPTIP will not hesitate to bring the full wrath of the law on them.”
She further frowned at the high rate of rape in the society and cautioned schoolgirls to be careful of the kind of friends they keep. She explained that a lot of teenagers are led astray by fellow teenagers, who are, unfortunately, victims of the crime themselves.
The DG also admonished parents to be careful of who they entrust their children with, as it is unfortunate that the people who are meant to protect the children are the ones who end up exploiting and abusing them.
