A 14-year-old girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by two brothers in their early 20s on Saturday in the Erima community in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
According to reports, the girl was being followed by one of the thugs known as “Honest,” who was working with his other sibling, Mr. Okwukwe, to attack her as she was making her way to her uncle’s home through a desolate path in the neighborhood.
The girl’s mother, wondering why her daughter had not returned, went straight to her elder brother’s house, where the girl was supposed to be, only to discover that she had not even made it. This community source, who begged to remain anonymous because he did not have permission to speak to the media about the matter, said this a few hours later.
Worried by the development, the source said the woman raised the alarm and started crying around the community and ran into a vigilante leading to the arrest of one of the suspects.
“It was then that the vigilant people started searching for the girl and saw that the brothers, after kidnapping her, took her to a house near a bush and took turns to rape her,” he said.
Speaking to our correspondent on Sunday, the Second in Command of the vigilantes known as the ONELGA Security Planning and Advisory Committee in Egi community, Onuigba Chinonye, said he was on a patrol with his men when they saw the distraught woman.
“On Sunday morning, while on a patrol with some of my boys, we came across a woman who was crying over her 14-year-old daughter who had gone missing since Saturday,” Chinonye clarified.
“When I asked the woman which area, she told us where the girl had gone earlier and where she was staying. We began our investigation, and with the help of a few dependable neighbors, we were able to locate the girl.
“We arrived at the scene to find the young girl being raped by two brothers, senior and junior, in a remote compound next to a bush.”
Continuing, the vigilante official said, “In the process of trying to arrest them, the senior one proved stubborn and tried to fight us.
“As my boys were dragging him, his junior brother ran away. So, we apprehended the elder and handed him over to the Egi Police Division Headquarters in Obite, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.
Chinonye advised youths in the community to shun criminal behaviours and embrace meaningful ventures to be useful.
Grace Iringe-Koko, a state Police Command spokeswoman, acknowledged the occurrence and stated that an investigation was still underway when contacted.
“He (suspect) is in our custody and will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department,” Iringe-Koko declared.
“The Commissioner of Police has ordered the Divisional Police Officer to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspect for him to face the law.”
Published by Ejoh Caleb
