A lady identified as Aminat Popoola has accused a House of
Representatives aspirant, Ettu Mohammed, of rape.
On June 2, 2020, Aminat took to her Twitter handle to accuse
Mohammed, who contested to represent Mushin II constituency in the House of
Representatives in 2019.
Aminat stated that she met Mr. Mohammed in 2006 at Number 19
Feyintola Giwa street in the Pako Aguda area of Lagos state.
She said at the time when the rape happened, she was 16/17
and he was 26.
However, on sighting the comments made by Aminat, Mr.
Mohammed went on his Twitter handle the next day, June 3, to deny the
accusations.
He acknowledged that he had an affair with Aminat but said
the accusation of rape was triggered due to the way their relationship ended.
However, when Aminat saw his rebuttal, she went on to share
in detail what allegedly transpired between them.
She recounted how Mr Mohammed “raped her.”
Read her post which she shared on her Facebook page below
”I take a deep breath as I type this…
My name is Aminat Popoola and this is my story. I am aware
that a lot of you have come across my rape allegations against Muhammed Ettu
and you have been waiting to get the full story so here goes.
I met Muhammed in 2006 at 19 Feyintola Giwa street, Pako Aguda,
Surulere Lagos while visiting a friend, I am sorry but John Glory maybe you
will see this, it was the year we reconnected after graduating from high
school. She was operating a small mobile phone business. He approached me and
talked to me and then asked for my number. I didn’t have a phone at this time,
so I collected his number. I never had the intention of calling but I took it
anyway.
Fast forward to a year later, I went to visit this friend of
mine again and that was how myself and Muhammed re-connected. By this time, my
Dad had bought my first phone so we exchanged numbers. He seemed kind so I
became at ease and this was how our friendship started. Yes you read right,
friendship. I never saw us being more than that. He used to come to visit me in
Ajegunle where I have lived my whole life, crack jokes and he would even go
with me to the hair salon sometimes. Mohammed helped me to do my online jamb
registration that year, he would buy me stuff, even give me money. So to me,
this was a big brother little sister dynamic. I never saw him more than that.
Muhammed was persistent.
He would come to visit me in Ajegunle and I would visit him
in Aguda where he told me he lived and never did he make any sexual advances
towards me, so I got really comfortable around him.
I will go straight to why I am writing this.
One evening during our phone conversation, he urged me as
usual to consider his proposal and for reasons I don’t know, I blurted out that
he was too old for me. A ten year age gap was a lot for me at that time. I
didn’t realize that I had hurt his feelings and I guess that he started
plotting the rape from that moment.
One day, I went to visit him as usual, I had gone to this
address (where he told me he lived) so It wasn’t weird that I went. Oh Amina,
how naive.
I will like to state clearly that before the rape incident,
we never had sexual intercourse, he is not my ex. We never were in a
relationship contrary to the narrative he is pushing to make me out as a
wounded ex. The only time he ever penetrated me was when he raped me and this
is in fact true and we both know this.
I got there that afternoon, The building as I remember is a
bungalow, it has a roof attached to the front of the building which created a
shed. A wide passage, face me I face you. Muhammed’s apartment (as he told me)
is a room self contain. Mattress on the floor, a small refrigerator. A pressing
iron laid on the floor, plates, and utensils laid beside the fridge. Typical
bachelor pad if we are to go by Nigerian traditional standards.
And this was how it happened,
As I came in we exchanged pleasantries as usual, I sat by
the mattress. He jammed the door, and I said why are locking the door when
there is no light. He didn’t respond. He started to undress and I said why are
you undressing, what’s wrong with you?
Muhammed said, « shebi I am old abi? I will show you today
». I even laughed and said ahn ahn what are you saying ? Is this a joke or
what? Please I don’t like this kind of joke o or I will leave. » I then stood
up to try to leave by this time he had only boxer shorts on. Not only did he
stop me from leaving, he started to land me heavy blows. I struggled and the
more I struggled, the more blows he landed on me.
I screamed. I shouted. I struggled. At a point, i managed to
grab the pressing Iron on the rug, and hit it on his head. He became so angry
that he dealt me more blows. I was so helpless and powerless but I didn’t stop
fighting, I was going to kill him if i could just so he would not penetrate me.
My eyes went to the corner where the fridge was, I saw the kitchen utensils and
that was when I saw a kitchen knife. I was struggling beneath him to get there,
he followed my eyes and saw I was reaching for the knife, he became more
furious and started to hit me. For a moment, I thought I would die.
By the time it was over, he got on his phone and started
calling his friends to come and beg me. I strongly believe that they were his
accomplices. He started to apologize and that it was a mistake.
I vividly remember that I arrived 19 Feyintola Giwa around
mid-afternoon and by the time this whole ordeal was over it was maybe around
5/6 pm. Do the maths.
I couldn’t understand even at the time why he would
dehumanize me like that and I was enveloped with shame. Understand that my
shirt had been torn, my eyes red.
I was so ashamed that I decided I would bury this shame and
act like it never happened. At the time, I didn’t tell anyone, my parents, my
friends, not a soul.
As the years went by, I started to tell my friends one by
one, at different times but never did I foresee that this day would come.
I walked around the house in pain all week, acting like
nothing happened. I would lay in my bed in pain, crying. And whenever I heard
Grandma or any of my aunties call Aminaaaa, I would act like my chest wasn’t
painful, or that my shoulders weren’t in giving in to the aftermath of his
fists, or that I didn’t feel dirty between my legs.
Muhammed in his typical I-am-such-a-saint fashion continued
to beg me and to solicit that I be his girlfriend which I refused. On many
occasions. I became convicted that my stance on not wanting to date him was not
a mistake neither was it his right to violate me. I wasn’t ready to confront
the latter. I just needed my mind to erase it like it never existed.
As you all already know, several years have gone by, he has
tried to make contact with me severally but I just couldn’t bring myself to
forgive him more or less give him audience. So I decided I would forget him
completely maybe the hurt would go away.
I know some of you are thinking, so why now? Why are you
speaking out now?
Last year, I messaged him on Facebook and I have shared the
screenshots on my twitter accusing him of raping me, urging him to do the right
thing. He refused to admit via chat and instead requested for my number which
my fiancé urged me to give him. He called, in his words ahn ahn otipe now, ode
gbagbe e. Oya mabinu now.
So i urged him to confess to his wife, his mother and all
the women in his life, to admit what he did to me, to show remorse but what he
tried to do was to manipulate me on the phone. I tried very hard to get him to
say it but he kept deflecting and it became apparent that it was no mistake.
Maybe i hurt his feelings, I didn’t deserve what he did to me.
I am speaking out because I grew up, I uprooted everything I
had buried. I needed closure and knowing fully well that I wouldn’t get
justice, I am doing this anyway. He did rape me. I am without doubt sure that
he violently raped me.
I saw his post, I laughed. Because those who are in my Life
know for a fact the person he described isn’t me.
I am not afraid, in the absence of evidence, I am sure you
have doubts and that’s okay. Like every human, he has the right to debunk my
allegations as he sees fit but what he doesn’t have the right to do is to
compose a set of lies with the aim of deflecting and pushing the narrative the
Nigerian audience likes best. The one that makes me out to be a scorned ex
which I am not. The one that thinks in this day and age that Women still aspire
to marriage or become empty in the absence of one. The one that is trying
albeit weakly to make me out to be hopeless and out for blood.
I then decided that I will not be silenced and in all of
this The Black Diamonds Support Foundation has been my support system. They
have allowed me to share my story, They have created a safe place to speak my
truth without fear and I will always be grateful.
One day, I know that one day, my country will get it right.
I would like to thank my darling partner Clovis, for pushing
me. For saying to me « baby, you have to let out all the pain. You have to let
it go. ». To all the people I met in France who made understand beyond
reasonable doubt that my truth will set me free, I am grateful.
I know that someday my baby girl will see this and she will
understand our daily talk about consent and speaking to me about anything no
matter how shameful it may seem. It will sense to you Olami and you will be
proud of me.
To all rape victims out there who haven’t found their
voices, you will find it. Don’t be afraid. Remember there’s three sides to
every story, my side, your side and THE TRUTH. The truth always prevail.
But this is my story. My name is Amina and Muhammed Ettu did
rape me. I know it. He knows it and my story will never change as I am ready
for what comes after.
Thanks for reading” she wrote
You can see more screenshots and claims by Aminat Popoola
here
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