Less than a week after he was reported to have sexually assaulted an ex-sales girl, a medical doctor, Dr. Onyinyechi Victoria Anoke, has also narrated how she was almost raped by the arrested driver of a Lagos Bus Rapid Transit, Andrew Nice Omininikoron, on December 29, 2021.
Recall that the PUNCH reported that a former salesgirl at a shop in Ajah had earlier accused Omininikoron of raping her inside his BRT bus on November 25, 2021.
The victim, who craved anonymity, disclosed that the unfortunate incident occurred when she boarded the 47-year-old man’s bus around 8pm after the close of work from Alesh Bus Stop in Ajah, to Jakande along the Lekki Epe Expressway.
After sexually molesting her, the young ex-sales lady claimed that the driver transferred N3,000 to her to buy pain reliever.
Omininikoron, who is still in detention, was arrested by the Department of State Services and handed over to the Lagos State Police Command for the alleged murder of a 21-year-old fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwole.
A Yaba Magistrates’ court in Lagos, on Friday, ordered that the BRT driver be remanded for 30 days in Ikoyi custodial centre.
Anoke’s recent revelation on her Facebook page drew ire and sympathy from several social media users on her page.
Narrating her ordeal, the medical doctor said that it all happened on December 29, 2021 when she went to visit a nurse, Amaka Modester, whose residence was not too far from Ketu, where she resided.
“We talked all day and before I realized it was already night… About 7:30pm thereabouts. Not exactly night in Lagos terms. She wanted me to sleep over as we still had a lot of catch up to do, but since I didn’t plan ahead for it nor informed my parents before leaving the house that I wouldn’t be coming back, I insisted on going home and she saw me off to the junction which btw was just a few steps from her house.
“I had earlier tried Uber but most of the drivers were a bit far from my location and would request to cancel on that basis, hence we decided not to waste further time, and use bus instead. The junction just overlooked the BRT bus stop, and as we stood bidding our final goodbyes, this particular driver stopped in front of us asking if we were ‘going’.
“There was no other person in that bus and my instinct got activated and was like “don’t enter”. But my friend, as if echoing my thoughts, was like “thank God it’s BRT, there won’t be unnecessary delays and you’d get home on time. It was just 8pm and within 15-20mins, all things being equal, I should be at mine,” she recalled.
Anoke, who claimed that she was seated at one of the front row seats, opposite the driver’s end, disclosed that what followed next happened in a flash.
She said that the driver bypassed the BRT lane and continued on the normal bus lane till the next intersection without picking the other passengers waiting at the BRT stand.
The physician disclosed that her ‘antenna’ was up at that point and her intuition started nudging her that there was danger ahead.
A frightened Anoke made a quick scan of the bus and concluded that there was no other means to escape the impending danger because both doors were locked from the control as well as the windows.
“Baba (Omininikoron) had started talking about how he saw us standing at the junction and liked me blah blah blah. Started enquiring about personal details, my name, what I do, if I can just follow him home that night and all sorts of nonsense.
“Having assessed my situation, my best bet at safety or anything that seemed like it, was to indulge him and play along. Told him I was a student who came home for break, came to visit my friend and on my way back to my house, that my parents were already expecting me.
“I moved on to hijack the conversation, and acted like I was interested in his miserable life. All this was to buy me time to think of how best to get out of that bus. If I panicked (which I did throughout), I didn’t show it. Rather acted relaxed and like it was just a regular bus trip even though it was established in me already that I was in grave danger.
“He talked about spending the night with him, and all the nonsense, but I politely deflected with the excuse that I’ve already stayed out much later than agreed and my parents were calling me, but that I could see him the next day, or even spend the entire weekend 🙄🤦🏾♀️ (weekend I would already be in Asaba 😂). It’s actually not funny. From the conversation he said his name was Andrew, he doesn’t usually ply that route, that he’s more on the island, and lives in shagamu 🤦🏾, and would most likely not see me again, that I’m scamming him,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
The doctor stated that by this time, Omininikoron had reached the next bus stop, still refused to pick anybody until he parked and switched off the bus lights.
According to her, there was darkness within, though the street lights illuminated the surroundings so she could sight people but no one could see me.
“He said we should move to the back row and talk better 🤦🏾. My body language kept speaking unease, and I kept looking at my wrist watch signalling him that I was late and we could meet earlier the next day, anywhere he wants, and talk as long as he wanted.
“By this time he had already collected my phone numbers (yeah, he ensured to collect the 2 lines he saw on my phone, dialed both to ensure I wasn’t giving him wrong numbers and saw them ring). As earlier said, my best bet at safety was to go with the flow, while strategizing for better options, and so I did.
“Baba (Omininikoron) dragged me by the hands, and as usual I didn’t struggle but followed him to the back row. By now it was established in my head that this is most likely going to end as an attempted but failed rape case (I didn’t even think for a second that it was going to be successful, my fight response was on a high and I racked my brain for all the possible things I could do to temporarily subdue him and be hitting the bus till people from outside notices me. I’d had 3 such previous attempts in younger years and God somehow always helped me escape untouched from those locked rooms so he wouldn’t allow this infidel do this now. I would rather die than let it happen (though the picture in my head was more of me harming him with his weapon if he brought out any).
“I had a feeling he might make to stab me and I kept looking out for any attempts of him bringing out a pocket knife and how I was going to struggle for and collect it (blame too much of crime and thriller novels 😂). As he made to run his hands on my body indiscriminately (Ewww), I subtly pushed him away, curled into myself and used my elbow as a wedge.
“He flared up, that if I said I liked him just like he liked me, why am I resisting. Told him I’m just anxious to get home already that’s why, not because I didn’t like him. He just kept acting weird and looking outside to one direction most of this time. Guess he was looking out for someone or something.
“After a while, he got frustrated and moved back to his driver seat and continued the journey. As he just moved, my mom’s call came in coincidentally, and I ensured to put it on speaker, tell her which bus stop we just left and that I would be home in about 5mins.
“He drove in silence for the rest of the trip until we got to my bus stop and he opened the door and decided to pick passengers. The way I ran out of the bus eh… Werey even told me to be careful and be safe oo as I was going.
“I decided to shelve that experience. It was just another near rape experience or so I thought…
“While going through WhatsApp statuses yesterday, I saw a pic of a girl on my classmate’s status with the caption RIP, and that she was killed by a BRT driver. The next status was a picture of the said driver, and when I opened it, guess who? The exact same driver I encountered. Abi eyes dey pain me? I said let me look at the name, let me not be too forward. Guess what? I saw Andrew! The exact same guy!
“Since yesterday I haven’t been myself. I stay and just start panicking for nothing. It is unlike me. I do not panic even in danger. But since yesterday my body will just shudder intermittently and I keep looking over my shoulder every time. I feel so traumatized that I’ve even been considering seeing the mental health team if I don’t feel better in a week,” she said.
To back up her story, the medical doctor fished out the number of her alleged molester with Truecaller identifying the owner of the line as ‘Andrew Nice LBSL.’
“This is the phone number of the driver from my call history. As I said he ensured to collect the 2 numbers on my phone. He asked I type in his number and dial with both SIMs as shown here, and watched it ring.
“I even thought I deleted it 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️. Didn’t even know there’s an evidence,” she said.
Below is another photo of Dr. Onyinyechi Victoria Anoke in her medical garb and the Truecaller evidence she provided.
