Men of the Ebonyi state Police Command yesterday arrested a 40 years old man for allegedly defiling an 11 year old girl, (names withheld).
The incident according to Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO Police, Loveth Odah said that the incident happened in Ekoli-Edda, Afikpo South Local government area of Ebonyi state.
The Police Spokesperson gave the name of the suspect as Kingsley Orji.
Daily Vendor gathered that the suspect after defiling the girl also allegedly inserted a substance into her private part warning her that she will die if she tells anyone.
Daily Vendor also gathered that two Human Rights Groups in the state, Save the Next Child Foundation and the International Federal of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has vowed to get justice for the girl.
According to Odah said: “It is reported in Ekoli Edda, Afikpo South Local Government Area of the state that on the 8th day of September, 2020 by 2: pm that the parents of the girl(names withheld) reported to the police station that a man who is 40 years old, Kingsley Ama Orji defiled their daughter”.
“The husband and wife narrated that their daughter was on her way to sell moi moi when the man called her to buy moi moi from her and forcefully dragged her into the room and had unlawful carnal knowledge of her”.
She said the Police quickly mobilised and arrested the suspect.
According to her the command is waiting on medical reports from the Doctor to know the next line of action.
“For now, it is usual that any time such a thing happen, we give a medical performer to a Doctor who will give us expert advice on it to know if what is alleged is true or not. We have not gotten the report from the Doctor, we are still waiting for the report but the matter is being investigated. Mr. Kinsley Ama Orji is in the cell, he is in custody and investigation is going on”.
“At the end of the day if Chioma was confirmed to have been defiled, justice will take its course and the suspect will be charged to court for the offence committed”.
“The Commissioner of Police Ebonyi state command, CP Philip Maku has actually directed that the matter should be transferred to the state police headquarters and that CID should investigate the matter distinctly and find out what has happened and if the man is found guilty, he will be charged to court”.
In an interview, the Chairman of FIDA in the state, Mrs Chima Iheanachor, said that the girl has been hospitalized at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, (FETHA) following complications she developed from the incident.
“We were informed that an eleven year old girl was brutally raped a 40-year-old man and that the girls condition was so bad such that she needs medical attention and justice”.
“Immediately we got that information that Thursday night, I had to pass that information across to my team, my Lawyers. The following day, all of us rushed to the scene”.
“We first of all went to the police station and on getting there, we discovered that the police lived up to expectation by arresting the man”.
“The girl was initially admitted at Owutu General Hospital in Afikpo South but we were told that she didn’t get adequate medical attention such that her condition worsened and that she was losing it. In order to save her life, she was transferred to FETHA1 as a matter of urgency and emergency”.
“We drove straight to FETHA1 and saw the girl in a terrible condition. She was screaming on top of her voice because of the pains she got from the defilement”.
“I was allowed to enter into the room she is in the hospital and she was in a very pitiable condition. I discovered that her lower abdomen was swollen up and when I made inquiry, I was told that it might end up being a surgical case”.
“We want to cry out calling on government, calling on public spirited individuals to come to her aid. She is actually an indigent and we had to contribute money the little we can and bought things including provisions for her. She needs help but the good news is that the man has been arrested”.
“One thing I am promising her is that we are going to use our legal powers to ensure that she gets justice. The court has resumed, let the police conclude their investigations then we take the man to court”.
A Lawyer, Steve Ugama of Save the Next Child Foundation lamented the ordeal and trauma the girl was going through due to the incident.
He said his NGO is planning a scholarship for the girl after she recovers as a way of encouraging and helping her get back to normal live.
He appealed for help from other organizations and individuals to save her live and rehabilitate her as well as to support her family who are peasant farmers and traders.
“We are looking at justice for the girl so that nobody will do this type of thing and get away with it. We are also looking on our part to see if we can give the girl scholarship so that she should stay off the street because at this age she should be in school”.
“But probably because of the family fortune, that’s why she had to assist the mother. We want to take that burden away from them to ensure that she goes to school so that she will never have to experience this type of thing again”, he said.
