Alhaji Abass Akande, popularly known as
Obesere, has been caught in a scandal ensuing from a rape accusation filed against him by an acquaintance.
The popular Fuji star was arrested last week by men of the
Isolo Police Division, after one
Olanike Olaiya reported that he raped her.
Olanike, according to NET investigations, is a National Diploma graduate of
Business Administration from
Ibadan Polytechnic. She is reportedly a business woman who was referred to Obesere by one of her friends,
Bola Okoro, who said that the musician could assist her with her office equipment sales business.
‘
When I contacted Obesere, he asked me to meet him in his family
house at Okota. When I met him, I introduced my business to him and he
promised to connect me to some of his friends in Dubai who would sell
goods to me on credit,’ Olanike told the police.
‘
After the discussion, he started demanding for sex and I refused
and when I wanted to leave he insisted I should sleep over in his house
because it was late and he claimed that it was dangerous to go out late
in the night in his area. I thought he was a responsible man and I
decided to sleep over, but at the dead of the night, he came into the
room where I slept and pounced on me. He raped me and afterwards
inserted a ring he wore into my private part and I started bleeding.’
Olanike further revealed that Obesere hurriedly left for an appointment after the assault.
‘
I could not bear the trauma and the bleeding, so I reported the matter to the police,’ she said.
Olanike reported Obesere to the Isolo Police Division, where the
musician was reportedly arrested before being bailed. Obesere, in his
statement to the police, declared his innocence, insisting that he had
consensual sex with Olanike.
When contacted by
NET, Obesere admitted having sex with Olanike, but insisted that he did not rape her.
‘
She visited my house on Saturday, February 8, 2014 and left the
next day. We had sex when she visited but it was with her consent. I
never forced her. I am very surprised by this development because when she came, she was very comfortable; she even cooked and ate in my house,’ he told NET correspondent via the telephone.
Obesere also revealed to NET that Olanike asked for the sum of N5 million before reporting to the police.
‘
Four days after that incident, she called me that she was
bleeding. I was worried, so I asked a mutual friend of ours, Alhaja, to
help me take her to the hospital,’ the Fuji musician said.
‘
Alhaja told me that nothing was wrong with Olanike, and that she
was trying to blackmail me. Olanike later asked me for the sum of N5
million. I refused and before I knew it, I was summoned by the police.’
Obesere disclosed that he was first represented by his lawyer,
Roy Bassey Ukon, at the Isolo Police Division, before going himself to tender his statement.
‘
I was never arrested,’ he insisted to NET.
When NET paid a visit to Obesere’s house at
Johnson Sam-Iye Street, Canal Estate, Ago, Lagos, the musician was not around but neighbours confirmed seeing Olanike in his house.
NET also visited the Isolo Police Division where a police officer,
who requested anonymity, confirmed the existence of the case and also
confirmed that it had been transferred to the
State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos.
Numerous attempts to speak to
DSP Emeke Ekechukwu of the Isolo Police Division failed as his number was out of reach.
NET findings revealed that the officers in charge of the case at the
SCID, Panti, Yaba, are requesting for a medical test result and any
other evidence to back up the rape claim.
A source also told NET that Olanike is yet to report to the SCID for
questioning. All efforts by NET to reach Olanike have so far been
fruitless. Several calls put across to her phone number are yet to be
answered.
She has, however, alleged that she has been receiving death threats
since she reported Obesere to the police, prompting her to go into
hiding.
‘
Last week I was informed that the case has been transferred to
the SCID and my Investigating Police Office at Isolo asked me to come to
the station on Tuesday for the transfer, but when I got to the SCID, I
discovered the IPO who took over the case, one Mr. Jacob — I don’t know
his rank — became hostile to me. You need to see how this man treated
me. He started by asking me to write a new statement and when I tried to
explain that I had written a statement at Isolo division, he rebuffed
my explanation and insisted I wrote a new one,’ Olanike told
Punch.
Denying the intimidation reports, Obesere revealed that he asked that
the case be transferred to SCID because he felt the police officers in
charge of the case at Isolo Police Division were being biased.
‘
The Police officers in Isolo think I’m an illiterate simply
because I am a Fuji artiste. I am not an illiterate and I refuse to be
intimidated, which is why I asked for the case to be transferred,’ the musician told NET.
‘
How can a girl accuse me of rape four days after sex? What is her
proof? Since the case was transferred to the SCID, she has not reported
to the station. If truly she was raped, she should come to the SCID
with her proof.’
The scandal embroiling Obesere comes as a huge shock to fans and Fuji
music buffs. As a public figure, his personal life has been devoid of
these types of controversies and scandals due to his regimented and
modest life style.
Although Fuji musicians are known for their notoriety and polygamous
lifestyles, Obesere’s monogamous style of marriage makes him a rare kind
in his genre of music and a darling in the eyes of the public.
This public perception will, however, start changing as a result of
this scandal. The Oyo State-born musician also has a disappointed wife
to contend with but the singer has revealed that this scandal will not
affect his family.
‘
My wife Abike is angry with me, but I am her husband, so she will forgive me,’ Obesere told NET when asked about his wife’s reaction to the rape scandal.
His family is not the only thing being threatened here — his freedom
and career may also be affected if he is found guilty of the inhuman
act.
Section 258 Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011 No 11 prescribes a life sentence as the punishment for rape.
With the case is still under investigation, Obesere has to prove his innocence to the law, his fans and his family.