By Juliana Francis
Fresh revelations have surfaced regarding a foreign national, identified by victims as Uncle Cobus, who allegedly defiled at least eight minors in Lagos State while using an unregistered charity organisation and posing as a philanthropist.
The Uncle Cobus case here in Nigeria is an echo of the ongoing scandal in the USA, popularly tagged as the Epstein files.
The Epstein files are an investigation, records, and evidence connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the late U.S. financier accused of running a long-term sex-trafficking operation involving underage girls.
Here in Nigeria, despite earlier assurances by the Lagos State Police Command that ‘Uncle Cobus’ would be arraigned, months have passed without any meaningful action, raising concerns about deliberate delays.
The primary survivor, a 10-year-old girl, initially gave a detailed account of how Uncle Cobus violated her, also confirming that other children were victims.
However, her testimony changed after police officers at the Gender Unit in Ikeja, Lagos State Police Command, questioned her in an office without her parents, lawyer, or the NGO that reported the case.
She later recanted her allegations. She would later disclose to her father, Mr Stephen, that the police asked her to change her story.
The Lagos State Police Commissioner, Moshood Jimoh, explained that since the child had recanted her statement, she would be taken to Cecera Yara Child Advocacy Centre for forensic examination before any charges could be filed.
Months later, even after the primary survivor visited the Cecera Yara Child Advocacy Centre, no charges have been brought against Uncle Cobus.
Child-rights group DOHS Cares Foundation has vowed to pursue justice for the victims and even formed a group working towards achieving justice for children alleged to have been violated by Uncle Cobus.
The group, joined by many child rights activists, expressed fears of a repeat of the controversial case involving Lagos-based medical doctor Dr Femi Olaleye, who was initially acquitted in Nigeria but later charged in the UK for similar offences.
Activists praised Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Sexual Offences Court for his “diligent and courageous judgment” in sentencing Olaleye to life imprisonment in October 2023, before the conviction was overturned on technical grounds by the Court of Appeal.
They warned against similar failures in the Uncle Cobus case.
The newly formed group has uncovered troubling details and unhealthy closeness between Uncle Cobus and the 10-year-old girl’s mother, identified as Bunmi.
Evidence suggests Bunmi has been sexualising her daughter by taking explicit photos and sending them to unknown individuals.
Further findings revealed that Uncle Cobus unregistered NGO hosts biannual gatherings for children at his residence under the guise of charity.
Although Uncle Cobus claimed mothers of the children were always at such gathering, however, the group said that new evidence obtained so far contradicts his claims.
Uncle Cobus is a 60-year-old man from South Africa, who came into Nigeria as machinery soldier to fight Boko Haram.
He is highly respected in the security sector and even had a chartbuster movie made about him.
Survivors’ testimonies mention a driver identified as “Uncle Chris,” who routinely transported them to Cobus’s residence. The group said that it was perturbing that ‘Uncle Chris’ and other staff have not been invited and questioned by the Lagos State Police.
According to the group of activists, Bunmi and her sister Anita appear complicit, with videos showing them dancing lewdly in the presence of children.
Bunmi had repeatedly publicly defended Uncle Cobus, claiming her daughter, who is the primary survivor, lied against Cobus. Bunmi introduced the fictitious “Mathew” as the supposed abuser of her daughter.
Stephen, Bunmi’s ex-husband, has joined forces with DOHS founder Lolade Ajayi to seek justice for his daughter.
After visiting Mirabel Centre, medical examinations confirmed repeated, recent violations of the primary survivor.
Lolade expressed frustration, saying the child’s story was consistent across OPD, Mirabel, the police station, Ceceyara’s protective custody, and the psychiatric hospital, with the child always naming Uncle Cobus as her violator.
Yet police and Bunmi introduced “Mathew,” whom the primary survivor had never mentioned. The introduction of the unknown Mathew was used by the DPP to advise on the case.
“How could such a report be submitted in a child defilement matter?” Lolade asked rhetorically.
Activists condemned what they described as unequal justice in Nigeria, where poorer offenders are swiftly remanded while wealthy or influential suspects evade accountability.
“There must be an end to shoddy investigations. Justice must not depend on social class,” one member of the group stated.
Concerns also arose about Bunmi’s continued access to the children despite allegations of endangerment and child trafficking.
Activists insisted urgent intervention was needed to protect the victims from further trauma and to ensure Uncle Cobus faces justice.
When the Lagos State Commissioner of Police insisted that the primary survivor be taken to Cecera Yara for forensic examination, it was emphasised that her parents should not have access to her so as not to influence her.
Despite this, her mother, Bunmi, secretly went to the school and forced the child to speak with Uncle Cobus on the phone.
During the encounter, Cobus urged the child to obey her mother and do whatever she instructed.
The group was outraged by this discovery, especially since the school had been explicitly warned not to allow anyone to contact the child. They held the head teacher responsible for the breach.
One member described Uncle Cobus as “a sick man, a pervert who relies on money to escape accountability for crime-related problems.”
Lolade added, “From video recordings, we established that the survivors’ mothers are aware of Uncle Cobus’s crimes. At one time, he gave the children who accompanied him N10,000 each. The survivor’s mother is a full accomplice; she told the child to lie down, open her legs, and took pictures to send to Cobus.”
The group alleged that Cobus purchased devices for children, which he used to contact them via video calls.
“He sometimes calls them on video and masturbates during the calls,” one member claimed.
Further claims suggest that Uncle Cobus may be operating a wider criminal enterprise. “It’s really crazy… confirmation that he is not just a pedophile but probably runs a porn club where he shares this with his sick companions,” another member said.
The group raised concerns about social media activity linked to the children. “We discovered Bunmi has another account, and Cobus is following it too,” one member noted.
One of the children is believed to be another victim of sexual abuse and is said to be HIV positive.
One member fumed: “I don’t know how adults won’t believe children! A child is giving all these details, yet they couldn’t prosecute the rapist. Nigerian police are something else! We don’t have police! They only go after the poor and weak. I swear to God, all the police involved in this must go down as well.”
Another activist remarked, “From my study, the children’s mothers are the main beneficiaries, using their children’s bodies as commercial tools to make money. My concern now is that it can’t just be about sex for Cobus. There is more to it.”
The group’s investigation also uncovered one Bose, whose children are alleged to have been violated by Uncle Cobus.
The group also stressed that Uncle Cobus continue to have access to these children because he pays the mothers of some of the sexually abused children. “Anita and Bunmi confirmed at Ajiwe Police Station that Uncle Cobus sent money to them weekly,” one member revealed.
A member of the group disclosed further findings, stating: “Cobus not only abused the primary survivor but also her cousin and other children, some as young as seven, under the guise of running a charitable organisation.
“These children were accessed through a system of financial dependency created by the suspect. He targets vulnerable single mothers, provides them with luxury accommodation in the Chevron area, and pays tuition fees for the children at prestigious schools.
“During a meeting with the Commissioner of Police (CP), Cobus admitted to funding the children’s upkeep through his unregistered charity, claiming he believed they had been abandoned by their fathers. However, this financial support was allegedly used as a means to gain access to the minors. A driver employed by Cobus was responsible for transporting the children from their mothers’ homes to Cobus’s residence.
“I am shocked at the conduct of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Moshood Jimoh. Despite initial assurances that the case would stand the test of the court and that Cobus’s embassy would be notified, the prosecution has encountered a significant roadblock.”
On December 24, 2025, authorities reportedly revealed legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) stating that Cobus could not be charged.
The document allegedly claimed that the primary survivor failed to name Cobus, instead identifying a “Mathew” as the perpetrator in a 2021 incident.
The group raised serious concerns over this development, noting that there are no police or medical records from 2021 to support the claim that another individual was responsible.
The group asked the police to produce the Mathew that violated the child, if it was sure, so that the child would get justice.
The group also expressed displeasure that Bunmi, who repeatedly warned her daughter not to tell her father, Stephen, of her being sexually abused, had not yet been arrested by the Police.
Furthermore, while the CP reportedly directed a search for records at the Elemoro Police Station, where the primary survivor’s mother, Bunmi, said she had previously lodged an official report, the outcome of that search remains unclear.
The case has taken a darker turn amid allegations that the suspect’s financial resources are influencing security agencies.
Sources close to the matter allege that the Department of State Services (DSS) was initially used to intimidate the survivor’s father into accepting a “settlement” instead of pursuing a trial. It was Uncle Cobus who dashed to DSS.
Stephen reportedly rejected the proposal, insisting on justice for his daughter.
“The current strategy appears to be to ensure the case never reaches a courtroom. There are also fears that the mothers of some victims, acting as accomplices due to financial dependence, have chosen to remain silent,” the group said.
The group is now calling on the Presidency and international human rights organisations to intervene, warning that the case appears to be at risk of being swept under the carpet.
Advocates argue that while Cobus may have the financial capacity to influence certain elements within the security apparatus, his defence would likely collapse under the scrutiny of a formal court trial.
