I was threatened with snake to confess I stole phone

…before pepper was inserted into my private parts

‘My ordeal in the hands of my accusers’

Cajetan Mmuta, Benin

Mba

Twenty-four-year-old Miss Favour Friday has finally decided to open up on how she was caught in the web of the men that pinned her down and inserted pepper into her private parts.

Favour, who is from Rivers State, said that she has been living in Benin City since 2018.

She disclosed that February 1, was a day she would never forget; that was the day the men accused her of stealing  and thereafter debased her.

Favour was last week beaten and stripped by some men who accused her of stealing iPhone X Max valued N44, 000. Her accusers later inserted pepper into her private parts after taking her to a native doctor, who carried out a voodoo activity even in the face of repeated denial.

Three persons, including the head of a vigilante group in Ugbiyoko community, Mr. Lucky Igbinovia popularly known as One Man squad, Joel Otoghile and Iyamu Kingsley have been remanded in prison custody over the incident.

Recalling that fateful day, Favour said: “I was in the hotel, where other girls and I used to ‘hustle,’ when a guy called my friend. He asked her to come to Lafun Hotel, where he was staying with some of his friends.”

After receiving the phone call, Favour’s friend asked her if she could go with her, Favour responded in the affirmative.

Favour recalled: “She and I dressed and headed for the hotel. When we got there, the guy that called my girlfriend said I should go and stay with another guy that needed a girl. I sat in the middle of the men; the other man was with my friend. One of the men was breaking tramadol and mixing it inside a bottle of Coca Cola. My girlfriend said she didn’t understand what the man was mixing inside the bottle. She was afraid and said she wanted to leave.

“My friend went to the man that she was with, and asked him why he was taking Tramadol. She said she didn’t want to take it and wanted to leave. The man asked her how she knew the stuff was Tramadol. She replied that her friend told her what it was. The man started arguing about the mixture; I picked up the label of the substance to prove to him that it was tramadol he was taking.

“He accepted but argued that the drug doesn’t make someone to feel high. My girlfriend said she could no longer stay that she wanted to leave. She asked the man that called her, to give her transport fare. The man gave her N500.”

Favour said that as soon as her girlfriend left, she followed. She said she didn’t want to stay there alone, especially since the person that brought her had left.

She said: “It was not up to 30 minutes after we returned to our hotel, that some men came shouting that I should return the phone I took. I asked what phone? I told them I didn’t take any phone.  At that point, one of them slapped me. They wanted to strip there, but our director warned them not to try it.”

According to Favour, as the argument raged back and forth, dusk began to gather. Tired of the accusation and counter accusation, the director asked the men to leave and return the next day.

Favour said: “They came the next day. They took us to, ‘One Man Squads’ house. The man asked what happened, we explained. He said he would take us to a native doctor’s house.  He called the native doctor and asked him to come. Our director then said he was going to the bank to withdraw money to give his wife. Immediately the native doctor came, the men started speaking to him in Bini language.

“The native doctor said we should write our names on a piece of paper. We were about six persons that wrote our names. He said that the name of the person that stolen the phone would disappear, while the names of those innocent, would remain.

“The man who said his phone was stolen was asked to crosscheck the names and keep the paper. After the first time, I didn’t see my name; I was asked to write down my name. The man did what he did and again, I didn’t see my name. The native doctor said they should hold me; that I was the person that stole the phone. The native doctor also took two bullets and placed them on my stomach; right before my eyes, the bullets disappeared.

“He said that I should confess that I stole the phone, but I told him I didn’t.  He said that since I have refused to confess, that the bullet would burst inside my stomach and kill me. He left, followed by the men that brought us there. A few minutes later, the men returned and asked me to go and beg the native doctor or I would die. I still maintained that I didn’t take the phone. Tired, I grudgingly went to beg him, but suddenly he brought out snakes and out of fear, I lied that I took the phone, but didn’t know where I kept it.”

Favour said that after native doctor left, the men  started beating her. They stripped and inserted pepper into her private parts, while one of them video-recorded it.

“One woman later came to rescue me. She took me to a corner. She asked me if stole the phone, I said no. She suggested that I should pay them; the men welcomed the idea. They said I must pay N440, 000, which they claimed was the value of the phone,” recounted Favour.

By then, news has travelled to Favour’s friends. When the ladies heard about the N440, 000 demand, they rallied and contributed N250, 000.

It was gathered that the men, who went to the base of the ladies, started a reign of terror. They destroyed things, including louvers and furniture. Although the director gave them money so that they would leave, they vowed to return the following day to collect a balance of N180, 000.

“On Sunday the men sent the video to my friend’s phone. She asked them why they sent the video even after they had collected money,” narrated Favour.

It was later discovered that the video had been uploaded on the internet. The prime suspect in the horrific assault case, Joel Otoghile 36, has a different story to tell. Otoghile said that he returned from Ghana and lodged in Lafun Hotel with his wife. When his cousins came to see him, they requested for ladies, with whom they could spend the night.

Otoghile said: “I came back from Ghana to attend an event, which was to be held on February 2^nd 2019. When we were in the hotel, some of my relatives came to see me. One of my brothers requested a lady for the night. One of my brothers had phone number of a lady; he called and asked her to come to the hotel. He also asked her to come with another girl.”

Otoghile continued: “When the ladies came, I met my cousin with his girlfriend and some other girls; they were all seated.”

He said that he left briefly to see the receptionist of the hotel, when he came back, the ladies had left.

He said: “When I came back, the ladies, who were sitting with me were no longer there. One of the ladies that were there told me that the ladies had left. I asked why; she said the ladies complained that what I offered to pay them was not enough. When we were sitting, I had left my phone to meet the receptionist. I couldn’t find it. I started looking for it. I went back to the receptionist to ask if I left my phone there; she said no, that I only came with my ATM card and drink.”

Otoghile and his siblings went to the ladies’ base, allegedly hoping to recover the missing phone. When they got there, they started destroying properties of  the hotel where the two ladies and others live. The men insisted that Favour must pay for the iPhone X Max.    

He explained further: “I left the phone where one of the ladies was seated. We went to ask the girl if she was the person that collected the phone, she denied it. I told her that she wouldn’t be able to use the phone because it had a secret number. I pleaded with her, but she insisted that she didn’t collect the phone.”

The manager of Lafun Hotel came up with the idea of taking Favour to Ayilala Shrine, to swear to an oath that she didn’t take the phone.

The native doctor carried a deadly incantation that made two live bullets to disappear into Favour’s stomach and further brought out a snake to frighten her into admitting to the crime.

He also asked both Favour and her traducers to write down their names  on a piece of paper, which he provided for them. He warned that after incantations, anybody whose name disappeared from the paper was the thief.

It was when Favour’s name disappeared that the men insisted that she was the person that stole the phone. They descended on her, mercilessly beating her, before stripping her.

It was alleged that when the hotel manager noticed that he situation was turning bad, he called Igbinovia, asking him to advise the parties to go to the police for settlement.   

A high court sitting in Benin, Edo State, on Monday, remanded Igbinovia, Kingsley and Otoghile in prison for debasing Favour. They were arraigned on a 14 count charge bothering on kidnapping, attempted murder, unlawful administration of noxious substance into the private parts of Favour, unlawful trial by ordeal, among others.

The prosecuting Counsel, Peter Ugwumba told the court that investigations showed that no phone was missing and that it was conceived to extort money from the victim.

He added: “A native doctor, yet to be arrested, magically inserted two live bullets into the body of Favour, saying she would die if she refused to confess.”

The Presiding Judge, Justice J. Acha, remanded the accused persons in prison and adjourned the case to March 6, 2019. He ordered the prosecution to produce other suspects at large in court, especially the native doctor, who fingered Favour as the person that stole Otoghile’s phone.

The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, warned that his administration wouldn’t tolerate human rights violations under whatever guise. Specifically, Adamu condemned the case of 45-year-old Odugu Blessing Dada from Delta State, who was allegedly assaulted. He also mentioned the case of Favour.

To underscore the seriousness Adamu attached to the case, he directed Odumosun to ensure that perpetrators of the heinous act were brought to justice.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), conveyed the IGP's position in a statement.

His words: "The IGP has expressed deep concerns over increasing acts of impunity and jungle justice and all manner of dehumanising treatment meted out to Nigerians by unscrupulous persons. The IGP who is appalled by the recently publicized incident in the social media portraying the unsavoury debasement and incalculable assault on Odugu Blessing Dada (45) in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State, notes that this incident, like other similar incidence before it, in Edo, Lagos, Abuja and Ebonyi states amongst others, have become worrisome.  The IGP therefore warns that his regime which has zero tolerance for human rights abuses, especially gender based violence, will do everything humanly possible and within the ambit of the law to put an end to the scourge and effectively prosecute all offenders. The IGP condoles with all victims of jungle justice and other forms of extra-judicial acts particularly Odugu Blessing Dada, her family and friends over the wicked and unwarranted assault on her by Friday Ndudi Eluro et. al, and also commends all Nigerians, whom, by their words and actions, have clearly identified with the victim and raised the red flag on impunity and all forms of inhuman treatment in the Country.”

He added: "The IGP, who is enthused that most of the alleged perpetrators of this particular crime have been apprehended, nonetheless, has ordered the newly posted Commissioner of Police, Delta State, CP Adeleke Yinka, to ensure that the case be expeditiously and thoroughly investigated and all indicted suspects charged to court.   The IGP calls on all Nigerians to steer-clear of human rights violations and all manner of impunity and jungle justice and to report all incidence to the nearest relevant authority. He however warns that henceforth human rights violators will be dealt-with in accordance with the law."

Following the attack on Favour, the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki signed the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill into law.

This was even as the Edo State Police Command, declared that no phone was missing, stressing that those accusing Favour of phone theft, only wanted to extort her.

Incidentally, also, a group of women, led by members of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Edo State chapter protested to the state government house in Benin to register their grievances over the manner Favour was humiliated and assaulted under the guise of looking for a non-existent phone.

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosun, said investigation into the missing phone, which led to pepper being inserted in the private parts of Favour, revealed that no phone was stolen or missing.
Addressing FIDA, the Edo State Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, said the victim was accused of stealing the phone in order to extort money from her.

He however assured the protesting women that the police would carry out thorough investigation to ensure the case was not thrown out by any judge.

The Chairperson of FIDA, Barrister Iryn Omorogiomwan, charged Odumosun to ensure investigations were expedited so that all accused, if found guilty would be convicted. 

Edo State First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, said the crime against Favour shocked human conscience and would not be tolerated by Edo people. Mrs. Obaseki said her husband was very upset and angered by the incident.

Obaseki, who signed the bill in Government House, Benin, said he was aware that the bill touches on fundamental practices among the people, assuring that he was not only signing the bill as a formality, but will ensure it was implemented to the  letter.