Alleged Sexual Harassment: Police State It’s Position On Probe Of Ogun Commissioner

The Ogun State Police Command has revealed it’s position on the probe of sexual harassment levelled against the state Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun.

Recall that a 16-year-old girl, Melojuekun Barakat, had alleged that the commissioner sexually harassed her during a meeting with him recently. But the commissioner denied the allegation, saying that the girl is being used to tarnish his image.

Consequently, the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, suspended Abudu-Balogun from office pending the conclusion of the case.

However, on Monday, January 4, 2021, Barakat’s family announced that they were withdrawing the allegation against the commissioner, saying that they no longer have an interest in the case.

In a video, Barakat’s father, Melojuekun Adesola Mansur, said the family would love to discontinue the case and end the matter with immediate effect.

According to Mansur, the reason for withdrawing the case was that he discovered that there are some “misconceptions and misunderstandings” between his daughter and the commissioner.

However, in a statement on Monday, Ogun Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said nobody can stop the Police from investigating the suspended commissioner.

According to Oyeyemi, the case is an offence committed against the state, which means that the Police are in charge of the case now and they are no longer complainants but witnesses in the case.

Despite pleas by the teenager and her father to withdraw the sexual assault charge against the Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, the Ogun State Police Command has insisted that it would investigate the matter.

The Police Spokesman stressed that the state Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, had ordered that the case be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Police Headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, for proper investigation.

He noted that the girl’s family has no power to tell the police that they are withdrawing the charges against the commissioner.

Oyeyemi said the command cannot conclude that the case will be charged to court until when the police confirm that the offence was actually committed.

He noted that if the offence was actually committed, the police will not hesitate to take it to court and see the case to a logical conclusion.