BUSINESSMAN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING MULTIPLE LADIES IN ABUJA

An Abuja-based businessman, Kenji Steve, has been called out for allegedly sexually assaulting multiple ladies in the city.

According to FIJ, one of the victims who decided to remain anonymous, accused Steve of luring her into a hotel room and sex ally assaulting her on Sunday, July 31. The victims told FIJ that she met Steve for the first time in her father's cybercafe on July 26.

"I met him at the cybercafe when he came to print a document from his phone. He uses an iPhone so he couldn't connect to our computer system had to tell him to send it to my phone through WhatsApp so could print his work for him. Then he started chatting me up that he wanted to know me more and started calling me He was a very persistent person,

"He kept on calling and calling me despite me telling him that didn't want to know him or get involved with him. The disturbance got to me too much and agreed to see him on a Sunday, got a call from him around past 2 in the afternoon and we agreed to meet at the flyover bridge around Magnolia Barracks.

I met him there and we went to a park close by in his car where we talked. At a point he suggested we go somewhere to relax so we could talk and get to know each other more. agreed because it didn't seem like a bad idea. He started driving but this time he started taking some detours. On the way, saw a signboard reading 'Sunrise Estate. From there, he started going down the road. started getting antsy because I'd never been to that place. I kept asking him where we were going to?

Steve told me it was just a joint for us to sit and talk. This was around past 3 pm. kept on asking, but he kept on driving straight. We passed this big yard that had abandoned shops and some heavy vehicles that were not moving again. When we finally got there, realised it was a hotel. He begged me that he just wanted a private place for our conversation. He kept trying to convince me that he meant no harm.

"When we entered, turned on the recorder on my phone because one can never be too safe. He offered me drinks but rejected it. After we talked a bit, I checked my phone and it was 4:30 pm, so told him I wanted to leave because I was supposed to be at home before 6:00 pm. He tried to convince me to wait a bit and confessed his romantic feelings for me but i bluntly told him I wasn't interested, I demanded to go home and even pleaded with him that i could go home by myself and didn't need him to take me home."

The victim revealed Steve began to as Bault her afterwards, "He became more forceful and started touching my hands and all. When I made a move to get my bag, he pounced on me and started strangling me. shouted. I kept shouting for like one minute and struggling. It became intense and I started finding it hard to breathe.

"He started asking if I thought anyone would hear me, that it was a hotel room and no one would come for me, and that I'd better shut up or he would get really angry and didn't want to see him angry. At that moment, realised that had to keep quiet because he could easily kill me. I kept thinking that he could kill me and dump me in the bush behind the guest house. He could kell me, bury my body there and no one would know. I was so scared because didn't tell anyone! was going out with him.

I had no choice again because he refused to let me go. We stayed for like two hours in that room. He did all sorts of things to me. I had no choice. had to just stay alive. didn't want to die. After he finished whatever he wanted to do, we left the guesthouse. He then drove me back to the flyover bridge where we first met. Immediately got out of the car, he drove off.

Another victim who's a Nasarawa State-based student of Ecoces University, Cotonou, Benin Republic, accused Kenji Steve of luring her into a hotel room and rapimg her on April 15. The student, who asked not to be named, told FIJ that she agreed to meet Steve at an open place after two years of being friends on Facebook.

He had been my friend on Facebook for two years. He had asked that we meet many times but the attempts always failed. I was with my friend in Abuja three weeks ago when he asked to see me. The plan was for us to meet at an open place. So, he said should wait for him at AYA in Abuja. He picked me at AYA and drove towards Karu in Nasarawa State. On the way, he said he wanted to get something from his tailor. After leaving the tailor's place, he suggested that we go to his guest house.

When we got there, I realised it was a hotel. I asked him why a hotel, but he persuaded me that he wanted us to sit, have drinks and talk. He had already booked a room and wasn't aware. We went into the room and he offered me drinks, but I told him I was okay. When we got to the room, he started making moves on me and told him that was uninterested if that was why he wanted to help me. I had earlier told him about some financial issues I had in school.

When I told him I needed to take my leave, he got very physical with me. I fought back but he beat, strangled and forced himself on me. I shouted for help but no one came."

The student said when she narrated her ordeal to her friend, she claimed she once suffered a similar experience in Steve's hands, "I took a bike and went back to my friend's place, crying. My friend asked me what was wrong and explained to her. She asked for his name and identity. When she saw his picture, she exclaimed that Steve had done the same to her."