Rivers State Deputy Governor calls for rearrest of 5 men who drugged and raped 15-year-old girl
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Banigo, has directed that five suspects who were released despite being accused of raping a 15-year-old girl be rearrested and taken into custody.
Banigo made the call in Port Harcourt on Tuesday while reacting to reports that the Police had released the suspects. She pressed for a thorough investigation into the case.
NAN gathered that the victim was gang-raped by a group of five men at Abirima Community in Oyigbo Local Government Area, after they had forced her to swallow an overdose of an analgesic known as Tramadol.
The deputy governor tasked the Police to re-arrest the suspects and commence a thorough investigation into the matter, saying that it was totally out of place for suspects accused of such crime to be released by the police without proper investigation.
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“Such action is counterproductive; it will encourage rapists to be on the rampage in the state. We all need to do things that will discourage crime,” Banigo said.
“Rape is an inhuman act, it is sinful; it is capable of leading to several illnesses and even death of the victim.
“A full scale investigation into the matter is expected in order to bring the perpetrators of the inhuman act to justice.”
Mrs. Lillian Okonkwo, the Chairman of the National Association of Women Journalists, Rivers Chapter, lent her voice to Banigo’s demand, describing the incident as “atrocious and inhuman.”
“We cannot all sit and watch. We need to come out to ensure that justice prevails, at least to act as a deterrent to others,” Okonkwo said.
She assured that the association would join other civil society groups to ensure that justice was served in the matter.
