Two brothers in their early 20s have abducted and raped a 14-year-old girl in Erima community in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State, on Saturday.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the girl was walking along a lonely path in the community to her uncle’s house when one of the hoodlums identified as ‘Honest’, in connivance with his other sibling, Mr Okwukwe, swooped on her.
A community source who pleaded anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the media on the issue, said several hours later, the girl’s mother, wondering why her daughter had not returned, immediately went to her elder brother’s house where the girl was going to only to find out that she did not even get there.
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.
Chinonye explained, “I was on a patrol with some of my boys on Sunday morning when we met one woman crying that her 14-year-old daughter had been missing since Saturday.
“I asked the woman which area, and she told us where she was staying and where the girl was going 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 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.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying an investigation was ongoing.
Iringe-Koko stated, “He (suspect) is in our custody and will 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 for him to face the law.”