‘Just Let It Go’: UNILAG Student Tells Lagos Court How HOD Allegedly Dismissed Rape Accusation Against Lecturer

The Lagos State Government is prosecuting Ojogbo on a two-count charge bordering on alleged rape and sexual assault.

A 20-year-old student of the University of Lagos has narrated before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja how the Head of Department allegedly dismissed her complaint and advised her and her uncle to “let it go” after she reported an alleged rape by a lecturer, asking her, ‘Where is the evidence, and why didn’t you record with your phone?’

The student gave the emotional testimony on Wednesday before Justice Oyindamola Ogala while appearing as the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of a 53-year-old lecturer, Samuel Obinna Ojogbo, according to The PUNCH.

The Lagos State Government is prosecuting Ojogbo on a two-count charge bordering on alleged rape and sexual assault.

Led in evidence-in-chief by the prosecution counsel, A.O. Azeez, the witness told the court that the incident occurred on August 22, 2025, at about 12:00 noon at the university’s Akoka campus.

When she stepped into the witness box, the visibly shaken student introduced herself simply: “I am a student of the University of Lagos.”

She recounted that the events leading to the alleged assault began a day earlier during an examination.

“Prior to the 22nd of August, 2025, on the 21st of August, I was writing an exam not related to banking,” she narrated.

“I was seated in the first row, the first seat. The defendant came inside at the first row while I was writing my exam and asked, ‘Hope it is what I read that came out?’ I said yes, that I knew a particular section more than the other section.”

According to her, the lecturer then made an unusual request.

“He then told me not to worry and that I should come and see him in his office after my exam,” she testified.

The student said she made efforts to meet him after the exam but was unsuccessful.

“The second time I went with my friend, he wasn’t around either, so I left,” she said.

She explained that on the following day, August 22, she had another examination scheduled between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., which the defendant supervised.

After completing the exam, she encountered the lecturer near her faculty.

“I was going to my hostel when I saw him. He signalled to me that I should wait, and I waited because he was talking to somebody.

“We then went to his office together,” she told the court.

Describing the setting of the alleged incident, the witness said, “His office is underground. There is no window and no secretary.”

She narrated that while they were in the office, two female students briefly came in to see the lecturer over missed tests but were sent away.

“He told them to leave, that they were disturbing him,” she said.

According to her testimony, what followed was sudden and traumatic.

“On their way out, they didn’t close the door well. He told me to close the door. As I went to close it, he stood behind me and pushed me to the couch beside the door,” she said.

Fighting back tears in the courtroom, the student added, “He started caressing me, touched my breasts, and then forced himself on me. He raped me.”

She further told the court that after the alleged assault, the lecturer made promises relating to her academic future.

“He said he would make sure he supervises my project in Year Four. He collected my exam docket, made a copy, gave me one, and collected my phone number,” she said.

The witness said she left the office in tears and immediately reported the incident.

“I went to my friend crying, and we agreed to report,” she testified.

According to her, the matter was first reported to a lecturer in her department, identified as Dr Abu, who contacted her uncle, also a lecturer, before they approached the Head of Department.

“We then went to a lecturer in my department, Dr Abu; he called my uncle, who is also a lecturer in the department. Then we went to the HOD office,” she said.

She told the court that the response from the HOD was dismissive and disheartening.

“When we got to the HOD office, he asked if what I was saying was true; he said, ‘Where is the evidence, and why don’t (sic) I record with my phone?’”

She added that the HOD invited the defendant to his office.

“Then he called the defendant to his office. When the defendant came, he said nothing of such a thing having happened and that I was just lying against him,” she said.

According to the witness, the HOD then advised against pursuing the complaint.

“The HOD said that my uncle and I should just let it go, and said next time I should be more careful with lecturers alone. Then we left his office,” she testified.

Her uncle, however, refused to drop the matter.

“My uncle said we can’t just let it go like that,” she added.

The case was subsequently reported to the university’s Servicom office.

“We went to Servicom at school. When I got to Servicom, a woman and I went to the medical centre for tests. Then, after that, they prescribed drugs,” she said.

She further told the court that she escalated the matter to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, which referred her case to the police.

“I was referred to Bariga Police Station and later to WARIF for another test,” she said.

According to her, the case was later transferred to the Gender Unit of the police command for further investigation.

The witness also revealed that there were attempts to settle the matter out of court.

“After all these, the defendant’s family and friends started calling for a meeting,” she said.

Justice Ogala subsequently adjourned the case until April 27, 2026, for the cross-examination of the witness, as the trial continues.