NANSE President Condemns Rape Incident By Nigerian Student In Cyprus

The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students in Europe (NANSE), Bashiru Saidu Muhammad, has condemned a Nigerian student, simply identified as OCP, who allegedly raped a woman in Hamitköy, Lefkosa, Cyprus.

The condemnation was contained in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday.

According to Muhammad, “It is no longer fashionable for students, who left their various countries to study, to continue to engage in crimes in those countries they have been accommodated to acquire knowledge. This act is condemnable and must stop.”

He appealed to Nigerian students in Europe, and other continents of the world to shun criminal activities and focus on their studies.

“I advise all Nigerian students in Europe to disengage from all criminal acts and concentrate on their studies, which is the reason they are in Europe. Only coming back home to their various countries without any dent of criminal record, will stand them out. As Nigerian students, we should not forget our background and parental upbringing, which is one of the best in the world,” Muhammad said.

The news of the rape was reported to the Police on Sunday, March 26, 2023, and a large-scale investigation was launched.

The suspect was arrested following a tip-off on the night of Tuesday, March, 28 in Hamitkoy based on camera footage provided.

Local reports said that the suspect was arrested and taken to a court in Lefkosa on Wednesday on charges of rape and serious assault.

The suspect, who was a student of the Faculty of Law at Bahcesehir University, committed the crime in a student dormitory in the Hamitkoy, Lefkosa of Cyprus following a verbal argument with the victim between 10:30pm on Saturday, March, 25 to 1:30am on Sunday, March, 26, 2023.

The Police confirmed that the suspect testified voluntarily claiming that he committed the crime because the victim refused to have sex with him, so he violently assaulted and strangled her and then raped her.

The verbal argument broke out between them because the victim who had earlier met with the suspect in the dormitory with her consent, refused to have sexual intercourse with him.

He reportedly hit her on various parts of her body both with his hands and feet, squeezed her throat with his hands, and beat her seriously.

The court ordered the suspect to be detained for two days for more investigation to be carried out.