Is Kogi Govt Covering Up Commissioner Involved In Alleged Rape?

Suspicion that the Kogi state government may tacitly be covering up its commissioner alleged to have raped a beauty queen appears to be gaining ground.

This is because up till now, nothing has been heard from the committee set up to investigate the matter, nor has the man at the centre of it all, Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Abdumumuni Danga openly denied the rape allegation.

Worse is the fillers emerging from Lokoja that the commissioner had not even been suspended by the state chief executive.

Even the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) gave vent to the suspicion as it urged Gov. Yahaya Bello to ensure that objective and unbiased investigation is carried out promptly on the allegation and the accused  adequately punished, if found guilty.

Recall that a beauty queen, Elizabeth Oyeniyi, via a viral video recently, had alleged that Danga abducted, assaulted and forcefully had sex with her over a Facebook post.

  Elizabeth Oyeniyi

Elizabeth Oyeniyi

According to the victim, the commissioner had been enraged with her facebook post requesting assistance for a friend of hers, who happened to be a relation of the commissioner.

The commissioner allegedly ordered some boys to pick her and his sister from Okene to Lokoja where the commissioner personally flogged them and raped her.

In a statement signed by its National President, Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole, on Monday in Abuja, NAWOJ observed: “While the media is awash with false information that the commissioner had been suspended, NAWOJ reliably learnt that the commissioner was yet to be suspended and no punishment had been meted out to him.

“Although a probe has been initiated by the state governor, Yahaya Bello, NAWOJ wishes to urge the panel and the governor to fastrack the probe and not unduly delay it.

“It is worthy of note that many days after this allegation, the said commissioner is yet to deny the allegation against him, pointing to the fact that he may be guilty as alleged.

“NAWOJ also notes that although the victim has already indicated interest to seek legal redress, the onus still lies on the state government, if it is not complicit, to take a decisive action against the erring commissioner.

“Gov. Yahaya Bello must take a clear stance to be against violence and assault on women by taking a decisive action against the commissioner, an action that would serve as a deterrent to others with similar traits,” the statement read in part.

The association therefore called on the state governor to ensure that the accused is made to step-down as a public office holder in the   investigation period so that he does not intimidate the victim or her family.

It added that other women groups and lawyers will be rallied to ensure that Oyeniyi gets justice.

“We can no longer have people in authority who should be custodians of the law breaking same laws with impunity and yet attempting to hold onto supposedly honorable positions,”

A source had told The Eagle correspondent that there is every likelihood that the chief executive would not want further dent on the person of the commissioner despite, not endorsing what happened.

“Also, there is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic is also affecting the pace of the case. People are distracted by the devastation the virus is causing and less attention is paid to other issues of less importance”.