The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU Ile-Ife, Osun State on Tuesday has stated that the female passenger r@ped and robbed ile-ife was not a student of its institution.
The suspect identified as 29 year old Damilare Jacob was arrested by the Osun State Police Command following the ugly incident.
DAILY GIST gathered that the victim, who was not named, had engaged Damilare’s services on Friday, July 26, 2024, at around 7:05 pm.
Damilare was to convey her from Ile-Ife to Moro town but he diverted into a nearby bush.
He robbed the student and after having carnal knowledge of the girl, cut hairs from her private area, armpit and head, and threatened to kill her if she dared to report the incident to anyone.
The spokesperson of police command in Osun state, Yemisi Opalola in a statement had claimed the victim is a student of OAU.
But the university spokesperson, Abiodun Olarewaju in a statement made available to DAILY GIST disclosed that the university has done its due diligence and found that the lady is not a student of the university.
He said though the female passenger engaged the services of the motorcyclist in front of the university main gate, she does not have any affiliation with the university.
The statement reads: “The attention of the authorities of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has been drawn to a viral news item in which a commercial motorcyclist, known as Okada, was alleged to have raped and robbed his female passenger.
Although the female passenger engaged the services of the Okada rider in front of the University main gate along Ife – Ede road, going to Moro, a nearby town, but the motorcyclist, later identified as Damilare Jacob, suddenly diverted into the bush where he raped the young lady and then robbed her of her belongings.
Refuting the insinuation that the victim is an undergraduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the Public Relations Officer of the Institution, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, said that the lady did not have any affiliation with the prestigious University.
We have done our due diligence and the outcome of our painstaking investigation revealed that no OAU student, within or outside the campus, was involved in any form of rape or robbery.
Accordingly, we implored the general public, especially the parents and guardians of our students, to disregard, in its entirety, the said news item.
In fact, our University is not in session and all our students, with a few exceptions, have been on holiday for almost a month now.
We, hereby, appeal to our colleagues in the media who are partners- in- progress to always verify the authenticity of their stories, particularly when Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, is involved.”
