“I begged rapist to use condom” – Married nurse

Imolita (last name withheld), a married lady, has testified before the Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos State, about allegedly being sexually assaulted by security officer Ibuchi Emmanuel at a school where she worked as a nurse.

She said that she was on night duty the day the event occurred, and Emmanuel was also on call.

The defendant allegedly approached her and wanted to see her later that evening while she was on her way to check out the school’s clinic before retiring to her desk.

Around 9 o’clock at night, Imolita claimed, the defendant knocked on the door to the room while she sat at her desk—which had a bed next to it—but she was hesitant to let him in.

After the defendant asked for vitamin C from her, she subsequently allowed him inside.

The 35-year-old said that after giving him the medicine, Emmanuel requested a seat because he had something to say to her.

She claims that throughout their conversation, he declared his love for her and she responded that she was married and had children.

She claimed that after doing so, he told her not to bother screaming for assistance since no one would hear her because he was going to force himself on her.

I told him, “I realize you are a guy, but I’m going to fight you so you can’t have your way,” Imolita said. He became exhausted as we continued to drag each other and said that he lacked the energy necessary to engage in sexual activity with me. I immediately instructed him to go since I am not a cheap woman and advised him to hunt for single girls instead.

She said that after agreeing to leave the room, Emmanuel changed his mind and tried to kiss her, touch her, and pull off her trousers despite her resistance.

He returned and shoved me. I attempted to kick him after he did so, but he seized my legs. He then began marching my legs with his security boots while I was already lying on my back. I began pleading with him not to do what he was planning to do, but he was certain that he must.

“I questioned him about his knowledge of my own country. I told him that I was from the Delta, where married women don’t socialize with other men. I kept pleading with him and warning him that if he did something, my marriage would end. Anything that would happen, he said, should. I advised him to hold on and mentioned that I had a condom with me. He refused, at which point he completed having his way with me, she continued.

Imolita said during cross-examination that the reason she advised the defendant to obtain a condom was because she believed doing so would allow her to flee.

Justice Ramon Oshodi postponed the case to March 22, 2023, for the trial to continue, and remanded the defendant to the Ikoyi Custodial Center.