Commissioner Who Abused Beauty Queen Now In A Big Mess

A commissioner for water resources who is on the dock for allegedly abusing a beauty queen may have landed himself in big trouble.

This is because more people and groups appear to be showing interest in the matter and are resolved to ensure that justice is served.

The man, Abdumumini Danga is the commissioner for Water Resources in Kogi State and has been accused by a beauty queen, Elizabeth Oyeniyi, of assault and rape.’

Despite that the Governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello had ordered accelerated investigation into the matter, some interest groups are determined not to let the matter die.

Recall that 23-year-old Oyeniyi had on March 29, 2020, made a post on her Facebook page about Danga not taking care of his sibling, who is her friend.

It was gathered that the post did not go down well with Danga and he allegedly ordered his boys to look for Oyeniyi and deal with her.

The victim was to tell a PUNCH reporter later that after she was really beaten by Danga’s boys, and also ordered to strip naked and apologise to the commissioner thereafter.

Oyeniyi, who alleged that the commissioner took her to a hotel and raped her, added:

“I left Abuja for Okene to stay with my friend because of the spread of the COVID-19 and on getting there, she explained to me that the commissioner, who is her stepbrother, had not been taking care of her.

“I saw a post made by a local comedian showing the commissioner distributing foodstuffs to people and I made a post that charity should begin at home and that the commissioner should take care of his household before taking care of outsiders.

Gov Bello

“The comedian saw the post and screenshot it after insulting me in the comment section for making that kind of post. An hour later, some guys came to my friend’s house to pick us up on the instructions of the commissioner and they took us to Lokoja.

“On getting to Lokoja, I was beaten up by the commissioner and his boys; I was asked to strip naked and a video was made and my friend and I were made to apologise under duress to his fans and him that what I posted about him was wrong. He later took me to a hotel for the night and forcefully had sex with me.

“I have been living in fear of what they might do to me, because they threatened to pour acid on me and take my life. The commissioner is threatening me to come out and drop the case. I want justice to be served, because he treated me like an animal and said nobody would fight for me.”

As at yesterday, five women’s rights organisations had called on Gov Bello to immediately suspend Danga.

The organisations include ActionAid Nigeria, Education As Vaccine; Dorothy Njemanze Foundation; Sterling Centre for Law & Development and DiniDari Foundation, according to reports.

The Eagle understands that the group, following a statement on Friday in Lokoja.are insisting that:

1. the governor to suspend Danga pending completion of investigations into the matter, to enable a level playing ground for investigations
2. Demand that the alleged perpetrator and accomplices of the assault on Nina be identified and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

iii.         That the governor should ensure the life of the victim, her family and other persons involved in the case, including their properties were guaranteed.

“This is appalling because the accused commissioner allegedly abducted her, physically assaulted her, stripped her naked and took a video recording of her, threathening that the video would be released if she speaks about the incident.

“As if that was not enough, her phone was destroyed to avoid documentation of evidence and she was forced to retract her statement and apologise under duress. This is the height of abuse of power and outright violation of rights.

“If left unaddressed, such heinous act by power holders against women will increase, leaving women and girls more vulnerable than ever.

“We are sure that his Excellency, Gov. Yahaya Bello, is against the abuse of power and an ardent advocate of the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens, thus, he will not allow this matter to be swept under the carpet.”

“The lady in question has had to flee for her life and deserves protection pending the outcome of investigations.

“She and her family are being threatened, they have been receiving incessant threatening calls. She is also currently undergoing medical procedure because of the extent of her injuries”, they were quoted by a NAN correspondent as saying. .

The increasing incidence and allegations of rape in the country has remained a fire under the current case not to let it die.