A final-year student of Lagos State University (LASU), Udouko Ememabasi, has pleaded for justice following an alleged brutal attack reportedly orchestrated by her landlord. The incident, which has garnered significant attention, began on August 12, 2024, when Ememabasi and her friend, Eseh Gift Uduoghene, returned to their residence around 8 p.m. and discovered a waste bin placed in front of their room.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Ememabasi recounted that upon inquiring about the waste bin from a neighbor, they were informed that it had been placed there by their landlord. When they approached the landlord's mother in her shop to ask why, the situation escalated.
"She said someone came around; that was why they put it there, and I told the woman I was not aware. Immediately, the woman stood up and started insulting me. The next thing she did was to slap me and start beating me. She hit me on the spot where I did my surgery,” Ememabasi narrated, adding that her friend had to drag her away from the scene.
The situation worsened as the landlord's mother allegedly began banging on their door and window, hurling insults at Ememabasi. The student expressed fear for her safety as people who were unaware of the situation joined in, banging on the door and windows. The tension escalated further when the landlord's sons returned later that night, reportedly attempting to break into the apartment.
Despite calling the police, Ememabasi said they were informed that officers were too far away to respond. "They couldn’t come to our rescue. We were scared that these people were going to harm us because nobody was there to rescue us," she said. Her father, who lives in Ogun State, was unable to reach them that night.
The following day, Ememabasi and her friend attempted to go to the police station but found that their apartment had been padlocked from the outside. "What if we had died overnight? What if someone had entered through the window to kill us? What would have happened? Or what if somebody had tried to set fire to set us ablaze? We wouldn’t have been able to escape because we were locked inside," she said, expressing frustration and fear over the situation.
Ememabasi described a subsequent incident where her father came to plead with the landlord and his family. Despite her father’s attempts to mediate, the situation deteriorated further. According to her, the landlord seized her apartment key and instructed one of his associates to assault her and her friend, leaving them bruised and battered.
“My head was banging at that moment. This happened in front of my father. He pleaded with them again but they did not listen. The mother told them to beat us. They hit us with different things," Ememabasi recounted, adding that her friend was severely beaten by a crowd that had gathered outside.
Dr. Surajudeen Fatai, the Acting Dean of Students’ Affairs at LASU, who responded to a distress call that night, confirmed the intensity of the situation. "I did what I was supposed to do as Dean of Students’ Affairs. When I was called late in the night, I went there. They could have killed me if I had supported the students because I met over 50 people in the compound. I was prostrating on the floor, begging and pleading on their behalf," he said.
The incident was reported to the Adolf Police Station in Iba. Ememabasi, fearing for her life, has called on relevant authorities to intervene, as she alleges that her landlord and his mother have continued to threaten her for involving the police.
However, the landlord, identified as Shodipo, dismissed the allegations, claiming that Ememabasi had slapped his elderly mother first. "She slapped my mother. The matter is in court, and we have been ordered not to comment until the second hearing. It is not true that her life is being threatened. I was locked up in the station for five days," Shodipo said.
Ememabasi, however, denied the accusation, insisting that the landlord's mother had fabricated the story to justify the subsequent assault. Efforts to reach SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls or text messages.
