Hotelier remanded in Prison for rape in Niger State.
A Forty two years Hotel owner in Niger state have been remanded in correctional Custody on the order of the Minna senior Magistrate court Nos Four for alleged rape of a married woman.
Friday Okechukwu was arraigned before the court presided by Senior Magistrates Christy Barau on Six count charges which bothered on enticement of a Married Woman, wrongful restraint wrongful confinement, assault or Criminal force to a woman, with intent to outrage her modesty,rape and Criminal Intimidation.
According to the police first information report marked number cmc/MN/CR/107/2023 the six count charges were punishable under sections 389,256,257,283(1) and 397(A) of the penal code law.
Friday Okechukwu, who is the Chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of Unfadable International Hotels Eastern By Pass Minna Niger State was on Friday arraigned in court by men of the Anti women and Domestic Violence squad of the state Criminal Investigation Department (SCIID), of the Niger State Police Command.
The Hotel owner was said to have on the 22 of September,2023 a Direct Criminal Complaint was lodged at Senior Magistrates Court Chanchaga by the said Married Woman, which was referred to the police for discrete investigation.
The police Prosecutor Inspector Lawrence Mowete told the court that sometimes in the month of August 2023, the defendant, who is the owner of Unfadable International Hotels Eastern By Pass Minna Niger State Saw her Neolife Supplements Drugs Advertisement on Facebook and followed her Facebook page and started Chatting with her Under the guise that ” you are a customer desirous of buying her products and you requested for her phone number which you Friday Okechukwu Claimed you needed to call her so as to patronize her business’
He Further told the court that after she gave him her phone number he called on her Phone line and invited her to his Hotel at Unfadeable Hotel Minna for physical display of her Neolife products to which he also requested for her bank account details to enable him sent the money for the products.
” Which she obliged and gave to you her Polaris Bank Account and having received the same you Friday Okechukwu sent her Airtel recharge Airtime of N1,000 directly from your phone and latter sent her the sum of N10,000 on 8 September,2023″ he told the court.
The prosecutor further told the court that she inquired from him what the money was for the defendant told her the money sent to her is for her to make her hair and the recharge Airtime sent to her on two occasions was for her to recharge her line.
She called the defendant back that she did not request for the money nor the Airtime of which the plaintiff call you Friday Okechukwu, to send your account number for the refund of your money you refused.
Immediately she cashed the money, he further told the court that she carried her seven months old baby boy along with her she took the money to him in his hotel on the 12th of September,2023 with intent to refund the money to him personally after he refused to send his bank account number to her to return the N10,000 and on getting to the hotel you lured her in to a room in the said hotel room tagged ” comfort zone 03″.
” In the said hotel you lick the doors of the hotel room and hid the keys in your pocket and fearing for her safety she stood up to leave the room but yo, Friday Okechukwu restrained her confined her from leaving the room, violently dragged her into the bed in the room.
” As she struggled to be free of your assault on her person the cloth she was wearing and the strap of herbs got torn and you forcefully had sexual intercourse With her without her consent in the presence of her seven months old baby boy who was crying”
Upon the receipt of the information the police detectives swung in to action and effected his arrest and during police investigation, the victim was able to identified him knowing fully well that she is a married woman.
When the charges were read to him, by the presiding senior Magistrate Christy Barau, he pleaded not guilty to the charges which the police Prosecutor objected to his bail on the ground that one of the charge is not triable by the Magistrate court only High court.
