New Telegraph

Father: Police should investigate attempted rape of my daughter (2)

…she’s lying, says skit producer

Mr. Chris Joseph, the father of Kelechi, said that he wanted police to investigate the alleged attempted rape of his daughter by the duo of Gabriel and Akora. It will be recalled that Kelechi had accused Gabriel, a skit producer and his cronies, of luring her to Westwood Hotel located at Badore, Lekki/Ajah area of Lagos State, under the guise of auditioning for a comedian skit, and then attempted to rape her. She literally had to pay her way out of their clutches and then fled from the hotel. Kelechi had also accused police personnel at Ipaja Police Station of demanding N100, 000 bail, tagging her prostitute, detaining her for four days, thus infringing on her fundamental human rights.

The police were also alleged of forcing her to sweep and mop the station for four days, and then mandating her to pay Gabriel N1million for the laptops and camera taken by the naval cadets Kelechi brought to his home. Our reporter on Tuesday, August 31, attempted to speak with Gabriel, to hear his side of the story, but he didn’t pick his calls. However, after an SMS and WhatsApp messages were sent to his phone, he called the following day.

He maintained that Kelechi and he had been dating since last year, but trouble hit their paradise after he refused to accept her as a live-in lover and also kicked her out of his skit production. He denied bribing police, stressing he had no such money to throw around. According to him, Kelechi was spreading lies to get back at him for not using her in his skit and to tarnish his reputation.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Ipaja Police Station, said that the case was an armed robbery and had thus decided to charge Kelechi to court. This sort of statement was what irritated Chris. Chris said: “My anger with the whole thing was that the police refused to mention or investigate the fact that my daughter was almost raped and assaulted. I want justice to be done.

She was badly beaten and she had marks on her body. She told me that the police forced her to sweep and mop the police station and other offices. I see that action as being wrong. I felt they did it to humiliate and maltreat her.” Chris said that he wanted justice, not just for his daughter, but to stop men who were in the habit of luring unsuspecting and desperate girls into hotels, in the name of auditions for movies, skits and modeling to rape them. Chris said that his daughter was beaten black and blue and that she has marks on her body to show for it. Chris said he was pained that Kelechi didn’t confide in him after the incident, before contacting her former classmate, who had just been recruited into the navy to handle the issue of Gabriel and friend allegedly threatening her life. Chris said he got to know about the attempted rape only after Kelechi had been arrested and detained.

He alleged that the police asked his wife to pay N100, 000 as bail for Kelechi and that his sister-inlaw was labeled a prostitute by the police. He explained that he had to reach out to the Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN) because he desperately wanted the attempted rape issue to be addressed. Ironically, it was alleged that a police personnel attached to Ipaja Police Station, directed him to the ACVPN.

He further narrated: “On the day they arrested my daughter and took her to the station, the police asked her to pay some money, so that they could swing the case to her favour. When she told them that she didn’t have that kind of money, they detained her. The DPO called my sister-in-law a prostitute and my wife confirmed her sister was called a prostitute. Gabriel and his friends threatened to deal with my daughter if she told anyone about the attempted rape. My wife received strange calls from different phone numbers, and whenever she picks, the callers would threatened her to be careful.” Chris said that the cadets, who carted away items from Gabriel’s apartment, on the alleged request of Kelechi, had returned two laptops, remaining a camera.

Narrating his story, Gabriel said: “Kelechi and I used to date, but there was a time she came to my house and said she wanted to live with me. She said her mom was always collecting her monthly salary from her and she didn’t like that. I told her it was not possible because my brothers were staying with me. She left in anger. She called one day that I had not been using her for my skit productions; she wanted to come to the location. She asked for transport fare and I sent her N5000 through Paga account. She came late for the shoot, so I asked her to return the following day because it was late, and she said she couldn’t.

She said she had somewhere to go. I asked for a refund of the transport fare and she refunded it.” He recalled that on April 7, 2021, a boy and girl came to join in his skit production and were arrested by Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He said that the EFCC operatives took him along because he was with the suspects.

“The name of the girl is Black Truly and the boy is Victory. I met them through my Instagram account. We wrote statements at the EFCC office, and I was released because I was not indicted. The other suspects are still in the EFCC’s custody,” said Gabriel. Recollecting how he met Kelechi, Gabriel explained that he met her in October 2020, through her boss, called Mr. Segun, operating a spa. They dated for five months before they fell apart. He said: “It was my brothers that told me that Kelechi came with men in military uniforms to cart away my camera, two laptops and some money. Kelechi knew where I used to keep money.

Whenever she comes to visit, I would go there to collect money to give her. I even called to ask why she carried out such actions, but she didn’t pick my call. When I called her office, they said she no longer works there. I then went to the station to report.” He said that all attempts to get Kelechi to respond to police invitations were futile. Police had to set a trap, posing as online buyers of her products before she was caught and arrested. Gabriel further alleged: “She got angry with me for three reasons; one was because she wanted to move in with me and I refused. Secondly, I refused to feature her in my skit because she came late, and thirdly because I told I was no longer interested in the relationship and we had to break up. When she was initially arrested, her parents begged me not to allow the matter to be taken to court, and I accepted.

My only condition was that Kelechi should return my items. The following week, she went to State Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, to claim that I attempted to rape her, which I didn’t. She later went to post online that I raped her even after we signed an agreement not to post anything online till the case was over. All I’m asking is that my items should be returned.” He said that since the matter started, he had not been able to shoot any skits. He stated that the whole matter was affecting his job.

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