The police have
arrested a suspected fraudster, Uchenna Ugwu, for allegedly defrauding some
women and later raping them.
The 26-year-old
indigene of Enugu State, while being paraded at the Awka, Anambra State office
of the Department of State Service, confessed to the crime, adding that he
raped his victims to fight boredom.
It was learnt that Ugwu
belonged to a syndicate, which specialised in luring ladies while pretending to
be spiritualists, defrauding and raping them.
Punch’s correspondent
learnt that the mode of operation of the group was to lure women into their
trap and initially tricked them into disclosing their ATM PIN codes.
It was learnt that if a
victim refused to comply, the group would threaten to inflict a strange ailment
on her based on a spiritual power they possess.
Having succeeded, the
gang members would take their victim to an arranged prayer house, where she
would be compelled to take a oath never to disclose her experience to anyone.
The victim would then
be raped on the pretext of making a charm for her.
Ugwu and his group
operated in Asaba, Delta State, and Obosi, in the Idemili North Local
Government Area of Anambra State for a long time, before luck ran out on Ugwu.
He was arrested by the
DSS based on petitions from some of the victims.
Ugwu, who said he
stopped his education at primary six due to financial constraint, said he
turned to crime to survive.
He said, “I joined this
business to fight boredom because my former work was not going on fine and had
shut down.
“My parents, who are
still alive, are poor and because they cannot sponsor my education, I had to
stop at primary six.”
Ugwu, while begging for
forgiveness, said he was a changed man.
“I have suffered a lot
in the hands of these people (DSS) and I promise not to indulge in this act
again in my life; this is a lesson to every young man that doing evil is not
the best,” he said.
A lady, who said she
was a victim, told Punch she believed she was hypnotised.
She said, “I believe he
used a charm on me. He told me if anybody heard about what happened, I would
not live to tell the story.
“To be sincere, I did
not know what I was doing. I lost my sense of reasoning during the process
until after he raped me.”
The Director of DSS,
Alex Okeiyi, said the antics of the hoodlums were many, warning members of the
public, especially females, to be cautious.
Okeiyi said, “It is
noteworthy that since agencies in the state with the support of the government
kept kidnappers and armed robbers in check, undesirable elements resorted to
fraudulent practices including rape.”
No comments:
Post a Comment