Rape Victim Not OAU Student, Says Management
Authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, have refuted claims that one of its female students was raped by a commercial motorcyclist.
Osun State Police Command paraded one Jacob Damilare for allegedly having carnal knowledge of a female passenger heading to Moro, who had engaged his services on July 26, 2024, from OAU main gate.
The motorcyclist had reportedly diverted into a bush before RCC Junction, Moro, where he raped the victim and robbed her of personal effects.
Responding to questions from journalists, Damilare said he committed the act due to how the victim reacted to his love advances to her, adding that the lady involved was a student.
But OAU Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olanrewaju, while debunking the claim in a statement obtained in Osogbo, the state capital, on Tuesday, stated that the victim was not in anyway affiliated to the university, notwithstanding the fact that she engaged the services of the motorcyclist at the university main gate.
Olanrewaju, while stating that no OAU student was raped, insisted that the institution has been on holiday for close to a month.
“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.
“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.
“The lady did not have any affiliation with the prestigious university. 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,” the statement read partly.
Olanrewaju subsequently implored the public to disregard the information, stating that it was false.
