Nigerian Man Jailed in UK After Exposing Himself, Masturbating in Front of Woman on Train

A Nigerian man and registered sex offender, Babatunde Odutola, has been jailed in the United Kingdom after exposing himself and masturbating in front of a woman on a train travelling towards Manchester.

What happened
Odutola, 36, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 44 weeks in prison at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Monday, September 14, after pleading guilty to outraging public decency and to breaching a suspended sentence order. The incident took place around 7pm on Friday, September 11, on a train passing through Cheshire on its way to Manchester Piccadilly station.

According to British Transport Police, Odutola approached a woman travelling alone, looked her up and down, and became aggressive when she declined to engage with him. He then exposed himself while seated in a wheelchair and began masturbating while staring at the woman and telling her to "come over."

A fellow passenger intervened and escorted the distressed woman out of the carriage. Police said CCTV footage showed Odutola continuing the act even as other passengers walked through the carriage.

British Transport Police officers arrested Odutola after the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly, and he was prosecuted and jailed within 72 hours of the incident.

Police response
Detective Constable Leonidas Christoforou of British Transport Police described the ordeal as "terrifying" for the victim, who he said Odutola had singled out while she was travelling alone. Christoforou noted that Odutola showed little remorse and denied the allegations during his police interview, but that CCTV footage and witness accounts provided sufficient evidence to secure the conviction.

Part of a wider pattern
Odutola's case is the latest in a string of similar prosecutions involving Nigerian men on UK trains reported this year. In July, Obinwa Obichukwu, 45, was sentenced to two years in prison over the sexual assault of a lone woman at Euston station in London, along with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placement on the sex offenders register for a decade.

In February, Esosa Eguakin was jailed for two years after sexually assaulting two women on separate train journeys between Hampshire and London, and was similarly banned under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order from sitting near lone women.

British Transport Police has continued to emphasise that tackling violence and harassment against women and girls on the railway network remains a force priority, and has urged passengers to report such incidents by texting 61016.

The bottom line
The case adds to a series of recent convictions of Nigerian nationals for offences against women on UK public transport, each handled through the UK's ordinary criminal justice process arrest, prosecution, and sentencing, often within days of the offence.

Beyond the individual conviction, the recurrence of similar cases in a single year has kept the issue in the UK media spotlight and renewed British Transport Police's public messaging around reporting harassment on trains.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. ( USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
Vanguard News, "Nigerian man, Babatunde who masturbated in front of woman on UK train jailed" https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/09/nigerian-man-babatunde-who-masturbated-in-front-of-woman-on-uk-train-jailed/

The Street Journal, "UK court sentences Nigerian man to 10-month jail term for masturbating in front of a woman on public train" https://thestreetjournal.org/uk-court-sentences-nigerian-man-to-10-month-jail-term-for-masturbating-in-front-of-a-woman-on-public-train/

Vanguard News, "Nigerian man Obinwa Obichukwu jailed over sexual assault at UK train station" https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/07/nigerian-man-obinwa-obichukwu-jailed-over-sexual-assault-at-uk-train-station/

Vanguard News, "UK-based Nigerian man jailed, banned from sitting near lone women after train assaults" https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/02/uk-based-nigerian-man-jailed-banned-from-sitting-near-lone-women-after-train-assaults/