…Police collected N300,000 to release suspects, community alleges
Daniel Anokwuru
Life is no longer the same for 16-year-old Chinwe (other names withheld). She is currently faced with the trauma and experience that would haunt for long.
Chinwe was not only raped, but ridiculed as she walked home naked after the assaulters seized her dress, pant and bra.
The Nigerian Xpress learnt that the incident happened on Saturday, May 19, 2019, about 9:00pm. The suspects had drugged their victim, took her to Community Central School, Amafor, Ugbawka, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, where they took turns to rape her in the deserted school environment.
According to one of the youths from the village, Obinna Echefu, one of the victim’s relations was among those who raped her. He said the victim, after being raped, was not able to identify the suspects, as she was drugged and brought to the scene by one suspect, who had already made arrangement with his accomplices to wait in the school.
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Obinna said: “It was on May 19, 2019; the four men are from Ugbawka. They are all married. They drugged the girl and took her to Community Central School, Amafor Ugbawka, at night.
“The four of them raped her there and seized her clothes, pant and bra. When the girl woke up, she followed bush path and went home. She later reported to the police at Amagunze Police Station, Enugu State Police Command. The police came and arrested the suspects.”
Obinna gave the names of the suspects as Ifeanyi Nweke, Okechukwu Agbo, and others simply identified as Okpoko and Channels. He alleged that the police had granted bail to two of the suspects, with N300, 000 each, which they shared with the victim’s parents, as compensation.
“Two of the suspects, Okechukwu Agbo and Okpoko, have been released by the police. They paid N300,000 each before they were released. We learnt that the police shared the money with the girl’s parents. The two of them sold their land and motorcycle to raise the money. The other two do not have anything to sell; they are still in detention.”
Another resident, Chief Anyanwu, corroborated the claim of Obinna. He said the girl is known to be rough and rude in the community, stressing that she might have had issue with the suspects, which resulted in the wicked act.
“The girl is from Obinagu village. She sells fruit. She is known for living a careless life in the village. People know her for being rude. Maybe she had problem with the men, which resulted in the painful experience.
“Two of the suspects had been released by the police, after they paid N 300,000 each. One of them sold his land to one Mr. Dandy, to raise the money. Later, the police came to re-arrest them but they were able to apprehend only one person, Okpoko ran away after he was released.
“The police is still looking for him. Ifeanyi Nweke had raped up to three girls in the community in the past. He is known to be a rapist.”
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When our reporter visited the scene of the crime, one of the suspects, Ifeanyi Nweke’s wife, who is currently heavily pregnant, was seen buying milk in a nearby shop.
A close relation of the victim, who does not want to be named said the victim was unable to identify her attackers because she was drugged. He said it was a threat from one of her relatives who took part in the rape that exposed them all.
“They had drugged the girl; they took her to the school environment. It was very late in the night. They raped her, seized her clothes, pant and bra. The girl came home naked through the bush path. She was very devastated.
“A quarrel ensued between her and one of the suspects, who is also her relative. The boy threatened her that what she experienced was a small one, that she would see a higher punishment. The girl was shocked because she kept the pain to herself.
“She wondered how the boy managed to know. That was when she went and reported to the police. The police came and arrested the boy and he mentioned his accomplices.
“The parents of the girl collected the land that belonged to the boy, as compensation, in exchange for the N300,000 charged by the police before he would be released.”
When the reporter visited Amagunze Police Station on May 31, 2019, about 9am, the CRO, told the reporter that the parties involved were given 2pm to show up same day.
When asked to provide the phone number of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), he declined and said that the DPO was in a conference and could neither answer calls nor reply to text message. The reporter made another attempt through a different channel to contact the DPO, who quickly arrived at the station to answer to the reporter’s inquiry.
Upon his arrival, the DPO, Superintendent Njoku Daniel, denied collecting money to grant any of the suspects bail, as alleged by some residents of the community. He said those released were not involved in the crime, as there is no evidence against them.
“Yes, what you heard about the girl, who was drugged and raped by four men is true. We are investigating the case. Those released were not involved in the rape. You know we are supposed to report such matter to the head office, but some of the suspects, their parents do not have money to be going to Enugu town.
“So, we decided to handle the matter at Divison level. We have a Magistrate Court here; once we conclude our investigation, we would charge them to Court. You know when something happens at the village, the villagers will cook up all kinds of stories to suit their purpose.
“If anyone told you we collected money to release any of the suspects, it is a lie. We have fixed meeting with the parties involved; we still have three suspects in our custody.”
All efforts to speak with the parents of the girl on the accusation of seeking compensation for their raped daughter, instead of justice proved abortive, as an uncle to the victim said they were working with the police to resolve the matter.