21 Year Old UNILAG Student “Jumps from Third Floor of 1004” to Escape Rape by Facebook Friend

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is reporting that a 21 Year Old University of Lagos student was “allegedly pushed down from the third floor of the multi-storey building in Lagos, following a disagreement with a man she met on the social network, Facebook” while the CSP Fayoade Adegoke, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Bar Beach, Victoria Island where the incident was reported, confirms that in the official police report, the victim alleges that she jumped from the third floor to escape being raped.

The victim “sustained multiple injuries, including a pelvis fracture, and was undergoing surgery at the General Hospital, Marina, Lagos, on Tuesday.“

The UNILAG  linguistics student was named in the news report but BN has chosen not to republish her name.

Here is an excerpt of her story from the NAN Report;

“She met the young man through the social media, barely a week before the Nov. 1 incident.
She told NAN that the 26-year-old man (names withheld) last Wednesday invited her to a night club in Apapa from where they ended up in his family home at 1004 Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos.
She noted that the young man had earlier talked about sex on phone prior to the outing but she told him she was menstruating.
The victim said that on getting to the house, the man tore her dress and tried to rape her.
According to the victim, the man thereafter pushed her down from the third floor of the building because she refused to have sex with him.
When contacted, the mother of the young man, who was at home on the night of the incident, however, told NAN that she was not aware of what happened, saying that she slept around 10 p.m., wile the disageement between the couple started much later.
The mother, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that she paid part of the hospital bill immediately after the victim was admitted, and even tried to transfer her to a private hospital.
“I took her as our own daughter and so, I can do anything that will make her recover quickly,” she added.
She insisted that her preliminary inquiry indicated that victim was not pushed by her son as alleged, but that she jumped on her own in the ensuing scuffle.
When contacted, CSP Fayoade Adegoke, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Bar Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos, told NAN that the victim wrote in her statement to the police that she jumped on her own, in order to escape being raped.
Adegoke said that he ordered his men to convey the victim to the hospital immediately after he was informed of the incident by night security guards in the area.
The DPO said that the suspect was released on bail, pending further investigation into the matter.”

There are several disturbing questions and issues that are raised by this incident and news story.

• Why is the victim named and the accused’s name is withheld?
• Why does the accused’s mother have access to the victim?
• The victim has released contradictory statements – she reported that she jumped to escape to the Police and that she was pushed to the press
• Whether the victim jumped or was pushed off the building, her injuries illustrate the severity of the crime
• The crime allegedly occurred in the accused’s parents’ house while they were home! What does this say about our value system?
• In February 2012, Susan Yusuf of SuzyQ was murdered and her killer jumped to his death in 1004, a disturbing pattern seems to be emerging from the popular condomium complex.
• Absolutely noone deserves to be raped, even if sex was discussed on the phone and a nightclub was visited.

After, the tragic Cynthia Osokogu, we advise young women and men to be wise about who they interract with online and how they transition those relationships into the real world.