The Ebonyi Police
Command said it had arrested a middle-aged man for allegedly defiling nine
children aged between six and 10.
The suspect, a father of three, allegedly
carried out the act at Ezza South Local Government Area of the state, where he
lived in the same compound with the victims.
Mr George Okafor, the command’s Public
Relations Officer, confirmed the arrest, adding that the matter was under
investigation.
“The parents of the victims have, however,
failed to bring them for proper medical investigation; we expect them to have
done that for long.
“The matter would be charged to court after
the conclusion of investigations; we promise the public that the matter would
be pursued to its conclusion,” he said.
Okafor denied that the police compromised on
the matter as being insinuated in some quarters, noting that proper
investigative modalities were being applied.
“The information we received was that only
seven of the children were allegedly defiled but we would vigorously pursue the
investigations,” he said.
The Chairman of the Family Law Centre in
Abakaliki, Mrs Elizabeth Nwali, said the centre petitioned the state Criminal Investigation
Department about the matter.
“This followed the complaints that the
suspect, who was handed over to the Police at Onueke, headquarters of Ezza
South, was discharged the same day without proper interrogation,” she said.
One of the victims said that the suspect
defiled her five times and usually carried out the act in secluded areas,
including inside a car.
“When I am deep asleep most times, he will
carry me to a corner of house and insert something from his body inside me
after removing my clothes and his own,” she said.
Some parents of the victims said that
they became aware of the act when their children started complaining of severe
pains in their private parts.
“The suspect admitted to the offence when
confronted by members of the community and other stakeholders.
“We suspect strongly that he uses the contents
of the handkerchief used in cleaning their bodies for ritual purposes; our
children have not being themselves since the incidents occurred,” they said.
-Vanguard
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