How Lebanese Chef Allegedly Raped, Impregnated & Fired 17-Year-Old Maid in Lagos

A 17-year-old maid, Roda Timothy, was allegedly raped, impregnated and subsequently sacked by her Lebanese boss when all his efforts to abort the pregnancy failed.

The teenager had left Plateau for Lagos last year in search of employment, hoping to change her life for the better and be able to help her family. However, her boss, Hussein, who works as a professional chef for highbrow companies in Lagos, appears to have ruined all those dreams, at least for now.

According to Vanguard, the man who resides on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, had agreed to pay Roda N10, 000 monthly. However, two months after impregnating her, he sacked her after paying her a paltry sum of N19,000 for the two months she worked for him.

READ ALSO: HOUSEMAIDS: Working Wives Narrate Their Experiences With Randy Husbands

Narrating her ordeal, Roda revealed,

“I started working with the man as a maid immediately I came to Lagos. He agreed to pay me N10,000 monthly as my salary. When I packed into the house, my boss was not around but he came back two days later from his work place.

…my boss was about to leave the house when his brother asked me to go and meet him and collect some money to purchase food items for the house. I knocked on his door, he answered and asked me to come inside. When I entered, I told him that his brother asked me to collect money to purchase food items. He said okay and got up from where he was sitting, and pretended as if he wanted to get the money before he grabbed me forcefully. I struggled with him and was shouting but he over powered me and raped me.

The following month when I discovered that I had missed my monthly circle, I informed him about it but instead of finding solution to it, he raped me a second time. I then kept disturbing him about the growing pregnancy. What he did was to send me to a nearby chemist with a prescription but the attendant refused to attend to me without his presence. He later went with me and bought some drugs which he asked me to take to abort the pregnancy. I took the drugs but nothing happened.

After some days, he bought another set of drugs which I took, yet, nothing happened. I then became very worried and was disturbing him to find a solution to the problem he caused. That was when he started threatening me and later sacked me after paying me N19,000. I was so afraid that when I went back to my brother who brought me to Lagos, I didn’t tell him that I was pregnant for my boss. I was just praying that the pregnancy will just disappear but it did not. Unknown to my brother that I was pregnant, he got me another job where I worked for four months as a maid before my new employer discovered that I was pregnant and told my brother.”

Her brother added that they discovered she was pregnant in January, and after carrying out a scan, Roda told them that her former boss, Hussein, was responsible for her pregnancy.

He continued,

So, we went to Hussein’s house to confront him but he denied being responsible for the pregnancy. We therefore reported the case to the Immigration Department in Ikeja and on February 9, 2016, he was arrested but was later released.

From immigration department, my sister was taken to the National Agency For The Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP. Initially, officials of NAPTIP said she would be with them until she delivers but last week, officials of the agency came and asked me to come and take my sister back as she will soon deliver. The pressure and threats from NAPTIP became too much to the extent that I don’t know whether they are protecting the interest of my sister who was abused by a foreigner or that of the foreigner”.

Meanwhile, one Mr Hassan who claims to be Hussein’s nephew has said whatever happened between Hussein and Roda was a mistake and that they were doing everything within to resolve the issue, adding that Hussein has agreed to take care of Roda until she gives birth and a DNA will be carried out later to determine the paternity of the baby.