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 spokesman for the command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, had ordered that the case be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department at the Police Headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta.
He Said;
“The father of the victim has no locus standi to tell the police that he is no longer pressing charges against the commissioner, because he is not the complainant to us.
“He is not the person who was directly involved in the case. The victim is his daughter and even the daughter herself cannot withdraw the complaint, because she is an underage.
“Secondly, the case is an offence allegedly committed against the state, so they are no longer complainants; it is the Commissioner of Police versus the suspect.
“They (father and daughter) are just witnesses in the case. So, the police are going on with our investigation to confirm the authenticity of the claims.
“The CP has directed that the case should be transferred to the state CID for proper investigation; so, their position is immaterial.
“We cannot conclude that the case will be charged until when we confirm that the offence was actually committed; if the offence was actually committed, we will not hesitate to charge it and see the case to a logical conclusion.”
Meanwhile, Barakat has pleaded with Nigerians to allow the matter to rest.
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