Staff Writer
Six people have been detained for allegedly gang-raping a 19-year-old girl in Anam, Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State. The suspects have been identified as Afam Ezenwa, Chijioke Ifeanyi, Collins Obadom, Abuchi Okechukwu, Chima Obiekezie, and Sunday Okafor.
The suspects, who were 16, 17, 18, 20, and 27 years old, are accused of performing the crime after ambushing the victim and dragging her into a room where they turned around and defiled her.
The teenager (name withheld) described her trauma, saying the incident occurred when she visited her mother’s home in Oramaetiti and was ambushed by the boys.
She said that despite her pleading, they continued as one of them recorded the incident on camera.
She added that after being saved by some neighbors who overheard her cries for assistance, she headed home.
She was, however, apparently attacked by another group of youths on the way home, who harassed her and demanded that she take her trousers off while threatening to kill her.
She revealed that after the boys escaped with her trousers, a kind stranger drove her to her parents.
Her mother said that she was the hoodlums’ third victim and said they were notorious for raping girls and taking their pants for ritual use.
She asked the state government to take the situation seriously because her daughter’s life was in danger, especially since the pants had not been found.
Ify Obinabo, the state commissioner for women and social welfare, confirmed the incident to journalists in Awka on Saturday. She said that the suspects had been detained and taken to the state criminal investigation department in Awka, where they will face charges.
Obinabo pointed out that the arrest was made in response to a social media video that went viral and showed the teenager being gangraped.
“The high rate of crime among juvenile offenders in Anambra is alarming,” she remarked. Stop spoiling the child by sparing the rod, parents and guardians.
