Tricycle operator robbed, raped me at gunpoint —Lady

Tricycle operator, Tairu Rasaq, has denied an allegation of rape and robbery levelled against him by a lady who was his passenger, saying that he is still in shock.

Rasaq, aged 22, was recently arrested by policemen in Ogun State command after a female passenger alleged that the tricycle operator took her to an unknown place and violated her.

She accused the tricycle operator of wielding a locally-made pistol and threatening to shoot her if she did not cooperate.

She said that the suspect took her to a primary school premises where he raped her at gun point.

Not only that, she said that she was also dispossessed of her money before she was put back in the tricycle while the operator headed towards another direction. She said that she raised the alarm when they got to where she sighted people, which led to his arrest.

The command’s spokesman, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi said that the tricycle and the locally-made gun had been recovered from the suspect.

Two sentenced to death by hanging for rape in Kaduna

One killed in Onitsha tricycle park clash

Woman who accused Jay-Z, Diddy of rape drops lawsuit

However, Rasaq denied the accusations, narrating an experience preceding the incident which made him to suspect a set-up.

“I’m a vulcaniser and a tricycle operator. I’m from Abeokuta but I live in Papa (Lanto).

“I was implicated as a rapist and armed robber by a female passenger I picked. I don’t how this was planned for me but I’m just praying to God to vindicate me.

“On Sunday (June 19), I went to greet a brother of mine at Pakoto, opposite Ifo. There is a hotel beside my brother’s house and when I left him, I parked my tricycle in front of the hotel and went in to have a bottle of beer. It was at about 8:30pm.

“As I was drinking, I noticed three guys in my tricycle. I went to them and asked them to get down from it as I would be leaving soon after. They responded in a rash manner, asking me if I thought they were attempting to steal the tricycle. I told them not to be angry but get down. And they did.

“I went back to the hotel to return the bottle of the drink. As I looked ahead again, I noticed that the guys were back in the tricycle. I went back to them and asked them why they were back in it, telling them to get down again as I was about to leave.

“I started the tricycle and went to turn ahead at Pakoto to face Papa back. As I was doing that, my sister called me and I told her where I was. She complained that I had not asked after her for a long time, and I told her I would seize the opportunity to visit her.

“As I got to the front of the hotel, two men and a lady stopped me to board my tricycle and told me of their destinations. The two male passengers got down at bus stops. The lady said she was going to Iyana Coker. It was around 9:30pm. I told her I was going that way because that is where my sister lives. She expressed appreciation, saying that it would reduce her okada fare.

“We got to a junction where I wanted to turn to my destination and she said she would alight. As she got down, she started shouting ‘thief!’ ‘good for nothing!’ I wondered what was happening. Then she started calling those in the neighborhood, accusing me of raping her. It was like I was dreaming. I asked why she was doing that to me after helping her.

“The next thing she said was that I had a gun in my tricycle. People started beating me. Since I was sure that I didn’t put a gun in the tricycle, I said she would be the one to be dealt with for her lies against me.

“To my shock, people saw a gun where she pointed at. I cried out to the people that I had been working all day with the tricycle, not bearing any arm, but they didn’t listen to me. I asked how she got to know that a gun was hidden inside at the top, asking if she was working with the guys that I initially saw in my tricycle. But she kept telling the crowd to deal with me.

“I was beaten without mercy. That was how I landed in police station until I was transferred to Abeokuta. I live with my wife, child and mother. I’m the one feeding the family.”

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE