26-year-old Teke Blessing, the lady who has accused Perekeme Kpodo, a former Security Adviser to former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, of raping her, has testified before a Bayelsa High Court, giving vivid accounts of how she was raped by Kpodo inside his hotel on July 20th this year.
Prior to the incident, Teke was a cashir in Kpodo’s hotel. She alleged that Kpodo on the day of the incident, had invited her into the room, locked the door and raped her. He demanded that she yields to his sexual advances or he will have her attacked by men of the Famou Tangbe, a dreaded security outfit under the ex-governor Sylva which he, Kpodo, controls.
While narrating her sad experience with Kpodo, Teke broke down in tears, forcing the judge to the hearing twice to enable her to regain composure.
“I was employed as a cashier by Kpodo, the owner of the hotel. Whenever I went to submit cash to him, he usually touched me. I did not like the way he used to touch me. So, I reported it to the employment agency that helped me secure the job, and they advised me to plead with him. I talked to him that it was a sin and that I did not like the way he used to touch me any time I went to his office. After my protest, he stopped for some time.
“After some time, he started again. That fateful day, he locked the door and raped me. I shouted and also pleaded and he said he would not leave me until he was satisfied with me.
“So, when he finished, he asked me to clean myself and to bring his food. He did not use a condom and I was injured. He removed my pair of trousers and I kept struggling with him until he finished.
“I called my uncle who is a policeman and he came and took me home. The next day, we went to report the incident to the police and they gave me a medical report form which I took to a hospital. The hospital conducted tests, including an HIV test on me and thereafter prescribed some drugs which I have been taking.” she said
Her medical doctor, Ikenna Nwanna, who examined her after she was allegedly raped, also testified before the court.
Kpodo who was arraigned for alleged rape at State High Court 7 in Yenagoa on July 27th, denied the allegation.
