The Ogun State Government has announced the suspension of the Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, from office for alleged sexual harassment of an underage girl. The government said the suspension would last until the conclusion of an independent investigation into the allegation.
Sixteen-year-old Barakat Melojuekun had accused Abudu-Balogun of subjecting her to sexual harassment in his house, where she had gone to look for a job. The government said in a statement issued on Sunday by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, that the suspension of the commissioner was to enable him to participate unhindered in the independent investigation being carried out by the police.
Barakat, who is a pupil of Victory Model College in the Ogun-Waterside Local Government Area of the state, made the allegation in a viral video posted on Facebook on Saturday. According to her, the suspended commissioner connived with her uncle and a teacher to lure her to his house, where she claimed to have been sexually harassed.
Reacting to the allegation in a statement, the suspended commissioner described the video as “tele-guided” and claimed that the minor was being used to implicate him. He admitted holding a meeting with the girl in his room but said it was not private, adding that the girl’s uncle, who is his loyalist, brought her to his house so that he could help her get a job as a computer operator. Abudu-Balogun said the family had threatened to release a video if he failed to call for a meeting, adding that his refusal led to the release of the clip he described as a political blackmail by his adversaries.