By; MKPUMA ENYINNA, Abakaliki
The Chairman of Gender Based Taskforce In Ebonyi State, Barr. Mrs. Faithvin Nwanchor has said that justice must prevail over the alleged defilement case of a 12-year old girl by a lawyer in Ebonyi.
According to Mrs. Nwanchor, the gender desk of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has taken the victim to the hospital for medical examination and treatment saying that investigation to unravel the truth behind the matter has commenced.
She stated that the suspect who is a lawyer by profession, should be in his early 40s and should be charged to court once the medical report is concluded.
“We got information that a 12-year old girl was raped and she was taken to hospital by the Civil Defence Corps where she is receiving treatment.
“Once they are done with investigation, the accused person will be charged to court.
“Justice must prevail over this matter. The rape of this 12 years old, is a rape against the state. All hands must be on deck, including the security agencies to ensure that justice is achieved in the court.
“We gathered from Civil Defence office that the culprit is a lawyer who should be in his 40s.The woman in charge of gender in Civil Defence has commenced investigation into the matter. Medical test has been conducted and we are waiting for the result,” she said.
She however, advised parents to monitor the activities of their children to avoid further occurrence of such incidents.
She also urged parents of victims never to bath them pending when medical examinations are concluded.
“I want to advise parents to have time for their children and when such incident occurs, they should not be in a haste to bath the victim in order not to truncate the evidence that will be used to prove the matter. It is better to take the victim to hospital for medical examination without bathing in order to have credible evidence to prove the rape t case.
While condemning the action, the chairman of Human Rights Defenders in Ebonyi State, Comrade Samson Oko Nweke, said, `That the 12-year old girl (name withheld) and her mother are tenants in the house owned by Barr Kelechi’s mother. The house is located around Haraca Junction, Abakaliki Ebonyi State.
Barr Opoke is said to be living in Abuja but frequents Abakaliki. In all his comebacks to Abakaliki, he normally stays in his mother’s compound around the Haraca Junction, where the victim and her mother also live.
That in the afternoon of the fateful date (Wednesday July 6, 2022), the little girl had returned from school when Barr Opoke gave her a phone to help him charge in the girl’s apartment. Both Kelechi and the little girl are from Izzi land of Ebonyi State.
“Shortly after that, Barr Kelechi went knocking on her door in the guise that he had come to collect his phone. So, as the unsuspecting girl opened door to see who was knocking, Barr Kelechi dashed into the room, swooped down on the girl, tore her wears and devoured her sexually in a most inhumane manner.
“That Barr. Kelechi Opoke , after the alleged sexual assault on the child dropped for her, a bottle of RC coke and a note of #1,000. He also promised to buy her a phone and to give her a cash of #5,000 if she did not tell her mother. He was said to have threatened to kill her if she dares tell her mother of what happened.
“ Soaked in her blood on their bed, the little girl, amidst fear and shame refused to come outside until her mother came back from market and met her crying on their bed, conspicuously soaked in blood. Her mother inquired to know what had happened and the child opened up and narrated how it all happened between her and Barr Kelechi Opoke. The mother wept bitterly and reached out for help.
“That in the evening of the said date, some security operatives came to arrest the lawyer but on sighting them, he raced like a rabbit but was given a very hot chase by the gallant security men and was successfully apprehended and bundled into the trunk of a security van.”
