Popular Nigerian actress and media personality, Omotunde Adebowale-David, also known as Lolo 1, has alleged that a colleague once raped her.
The actress shared her traumatic experience of being raped by a male colleague in the broadcasting industry on her podcast “Say My Piece”, which was posted on YouTube on Friday.
According to Lolo 1, she was raped by a colleague, which has left her traumatised and experiencing momentary panic whenever she sees him.
Lolo 1 stated that naming the rapist now will bring her criticism for not speaking out earlier but doing so now that the said person is an established figure in the industry.
She noted that women often respond to sexual assault with denial and self-blaming, highlighting the complexities of trauma and recovery.
She said, “I hardly ever say this, and I am not even ready to tell the full story. The stories of sexual assault. When I discussed it with my daughter yesterday, she held my hand and said, ‘Mummy, you’ve gone through so much.’ And I said I had.
“I remember how many of those things I have to relive. I have been raped only once in my life, and I was raped by a colleague. I see him every other day. Do you know how traumatized I am? When I see him, I just get into this momentary panic.
“But if a woman of my calibre named him, he’s an established person in the broadcast industry, won’t people say, ‘How come I didn’t speak about it for all these six years until now that he’s taking a prominent TV position?’
“When sexual assault happens to women, the first thing to happen is denial. The next thing is self-blaming.”
