A 14-year-old girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by two brothers in the Erima community in the Ogba/Egnema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
According to reports, on Saturday last week, the girl was heading to her uncle’s house along a desolate route in the neighbourhood when one of the hoodlums, who only went by the name “Honest,” ambushed her with the help of his other sibling, Okwukwe.
A community source, who requested to remain anonymous, informed news correspondent that a few hours later, the girl’s mother went to her elder brother’s house, where the child was supposed to be, wondering why her daughter had not returned, only to discover that her daughter was not there.
The source claimed that the woman, alarmed by the situation, went around the neighbourhood crying and raising the alarm until she ran into a local vigilante, which resulted in the arrest of one of the perpetrators.
“It was then that the vigilant people started searching for the girl and saw that the brothers, after kidnapping the girl, took her to a house near a bush and took turns to rape the girl,” he said.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Onuigba Chinonye, the Second in Command of the vigilante group in the Egi village known as the ONELGA Security Planning and Advisory Committee, stated that he and his guys were out on patrol when they came across the distraught woman.
Chinonye explained, “I was on patrol with some of my boys when we met one woman crying that her 14-year-old daughter has been missing since Saturday till Sunday morning.
“I asked the woman which area, she told us where she was staying and where the girl was going to before. So we started investigating and through some good neighbours too, we found out where the girl was.
“When we went into the place, we saw two brothers, senior and junior raping the little girl in an isolated compound near 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 now apprehended the senior one and handed him over to Egi Police Division Headquarters in Obite, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.”
Chinonye counselled young people in the neighbourhood to steer clear of illegal activities and pursue worthwhile endeavours in order to better themselves.
When reached, Grace Iringe-Koko, a spokesman for the state police command, verified the occurrence and stated that an investigation is still on.
Iringe-Koko, stated, “He (suspect) is in our custody and he would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.
“The Commissioner of Police has ordered the Divisional Police Officer to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspect in order for him to also face the law.”
