For
allegedly colluding to cover the rape of a teenager in the palace, the
duo of Prince Richard and Ejimofor Nwoko, were yesterday arrested by the
Delta State Police Command at the premises of the Asaba Magistrates
Court, after several unsuccessful attempts to pin them down.
The
victim, a 15-year-old secondary school student was said to have been
raped at the palace of the Obi of Idumuje-Ugboko, Aniocha North Local
Government Area, Delta State.
It
was gathered that concerted efforts are still on to further arrest the
principal suspect and others, including the crown prince Nonso, so as to
unravel the true position concerning the case.
According
to the police, the arrested suspects have made statements to the police
but will still be detained while investigation continues.
THISDAY
gathered that police investigation into the case was due to a petition
written by Walter Eziashi, a former President-general of Idumuje-Ugboko
Development Union, alleging that after the rape, some royal princes and
others allegedly covered up the case after sanctioning the suspect and
imposing a fine of goats and the sum of N400,000 on him.
The
alarm raised by Eziashi also attracted female lawyers in Nigeria, under
the aegis of FIDA, who pushed for thorough investigation to give
justice to the teenager.
The
Public Relations Officer of FIDA, Delta State, Mrs. Stellamaris Mejulu,
expressed delight with the arrest of the suspects and urged the police
to prosecute all those linked to the case.
Also
confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Anthony Aniemeka, said police were still investigating the case.
However,
the Delta State Police Commissioner, Zanna Ibrahim who also confirmed
the arrest said the suspects were picked for compounding a rape case.
According
to him, “The main suspects are at large but we arrested these two
because they compounded the issue by settling a crime using the native
customs.
“The
law does not recognise such native fines, we have charged them to
court. They would face the full wrath of the law. We are not going to
trivialise the rape case because women lawyers and journalists are
interested in the matter and we would get the fleeing suspects.”
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