#JusticeForBarakat trends as teenager is raped, killed in Ibadan

Barakat Bello, an 18-year-old student of the Federal College of Animal and Production Technology Moore Plantation, Apata, Ibadan, has been raped and killed in Ibadan sparking the #JusticeForBarakat hashtag.

The teenager, Barakat Bello, who was undertaking the National Diploma programme in Science Laboratory Technology, was reportedly attacked on June 1, 2020.

The development comes days after a first-year student of the University of Benin, Uwa Omozuwa, was raped and killed in a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Edo State.

According to reports, the latest attack on 18-year-old Barakat took place at her home in Akinyele, Ibadan.

Initial reports stated that the corpse was found near the house.

The father of the deceased, Kasimu Elepo, told Sahara Reporters that he was not at home when the incident occurred.

He disclosed that the deceased’s sister was also out of the house at the time the tragic incident occurred.

According to him, the victim’s sister found Barakat’s body at the back of the house in a pool of blood when she returned from Qur’anic lessons.

He said, “I was not at home when the incident happened. The younger sister was not at home too, she went for Qur’anic lessons but when she returned home, she saw her at the back of the house with deep cuts all over her body. She had been raped and killed.

“Somebody called me on the telephone that I should come home but he refused to tell me what happened. When I got home, I saw that my daughter had been raped and stabbed to death.”

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students, Zone D, has demanded justice for the victim, saying that the raping of women must stop.

The deceased, who was a member of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, was buried on Tuesday according to Islamic rites.

The murder of the teenager has sparked protests on Twitter with the #JusticeforBarakat.

UK-based medical doctor, Harvey Olufunmilayo, said the rape ‘epidemic’ must be brought to an end.

He tweeted, “Barakat Bello was alone at home when some men attacked her. She was raped and killed. This was in Ibadan yesterday. She was only 18. Barakat was at home. She is a Muslim hijabi sister. You mad people that come up with excuses for rape, what is the excuse this time?”

Another tweet by @mideglow read, “This is becoming too much!!! We are tired of burying our sisters and friends. We are tired of molestation and rape! Capital punishment should be meted to the perpetrators.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Police Command, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said in a telephone interview that although the report is trending online, the police could not confirm it at the moment, noting that the incident had not been reported.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of the family of the deceased to report the case for an investigation to be carried out by the police.

“Effort is being intensified to confirm the credibility of the report. At present, the Divisional Police Officers, Oluyole, and Apata divisions were contacted but we found out that the address that was quoted is not correct. When I got the DPOs and I inquired, the two of them said at present, there is no such report in their record.

“It is very funny when some people are too much in a haste to post such things even if it happened truly. I am not saying it happened because our records have not shown that. But, let’s assume it happened, the family is supposed to make an official report; that is another problem.”