Dangerous romance: Lagos bizman spreads widows’ nude photos, demands refund of love expenses.

The founder of a non-governmental organisation, Black Diamonds Support Foundation, Adewumi Adefunke, said her group got a report on the activities of Kennedy, a “serial revenge Indecency blackmailer that is on the loose” and decided to get justice for the women.

According to her, four ladies claimed to have been blackmailed by him.

“When we had a call out to research if there were more victims, we recorded over 12 victims of Kennedy: nine widows and three single mothers. He has several Facebook and Twitter accounts to distribute his criminal activities and he never stops. His victims are really traumatised and some as of now are extremely depressed and suicidal,” she added.

She said the case was reported to the state Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, who referred it to the Gender Unit of the command.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident but said the victims did not know the whereabouts of the suspect.

He said, “So, it’s too early to start asking questions about a case that just commenced where the suspect is yet to be apprehended. So, it’s too early to start asking questions about a case that just commenced where suspects have yet to be apprehended.

“As for the N50,000 attempted extortion. I commend them for not giving in. I equally charge them to report such to police authorities through dedicated lines in addition to reaching out to the press.”

Revenge porn, a worrisome criminal trend, says govt.

The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said there was an upsurge in revenge porn cases in the state.

She said, “This issue of revenge porn is a worrisome trend because in our offices, we have got several of such reports, where a relationship has gone sour and the lady decides to move on, but unknown to the woman, the man took her nude pictures and is now threatening to release them. Some actually go ahead to post on their websites or on social media. These are criminal allegations and there are relevant laws of Lagos State that address them. I want to believe that this person will be brought to book by the police because it appears he is a serial offender.”

She said the victims could not be blamed because they acted based on trust.

A human rights lawyer, Effiong Inibehe, said blackmail should be condemned by society.

He said, “Blackmail is using someone’s nudes, either video or photographs, with threats that if the person does not succumb to something, the nudes will be published or circulated on the Internet. That constitutes an offence under the criminal law of Lagos State. The conduct itself is appalling and must be condemned by society.

“Any man that takes advantage of vulnerable single mothers to sleep with them and even take their nudes without their consent deserves to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“However, it is not an offence that can be sustained without the cooperation of the victims because of the personal nature of the crime. So, it is important that they come forward. If they have come forward and reported to the police and the suspect has not been arrested, the police are not serious. In so far the person has a name and verifiable phone number, it should be easy to locate him and have him arrested.

“It is for the police to be responsive. But I am hoping my suspicion is not true, which is that the police are expecting the victims to give them money. I am saying this because I know the police in Nigeria don’t and hardly track criminal suspects without getting payment from complainants. This is wrong. If that is true, it is an indictment on the police.”

A Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Ilorin, Onimisi Abdullahi, said the victims needed help to recover from the experiences.

Abdullahi, while urging rights organisations to come to their aid, also advised the women to visit the nearest counselling centres and change their environment, if necessary.

“Women activists should be relating with them now, because they will be scared of men. However, they need to know that this is not the end of their lives,” he added.

https://punchng.com/dangerous-romance-lagos-bizman-spreads-widows-nude-photos-demands-refund-of-love-expenses/