A Police officer, attached to the Bori Area Command, Khana Local Government Area, Rivers state, has been arrested and is currently being detained at the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID), for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old girl in his office.
The officer, simply identified as Emmanuel, is being detained on the orders of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu, pending investigation.
The victim’s family members, who are demanding justice told newsmen that officer Emmanuel abducted their daughter on Friday, January 12, and only released her the next morning, after defiling the teenage girl.
The victim’s aunt and guardian, who gave her name as Love, said she sent the teenage girl on an errand on the day of the incident, but her niece did not return, throwing everyone into fear and confusion, and they launched a search for the missing child.
Love further explained that when her neice returned home around 8am the next day, Saturday, January 13, and was interrogated on her whereabouts, the victim told her how the police officer held her hostage all through that period in his office and raped her throughout the night.
Love said: “When she came back around 8am the following day, I asked her where she was coming from and where she slept last night.
“She told me that one police officer with two stars at the Area Command held her in his office at the Area Command, Bori, and raped her till daybreak.
“That he (officer) threatened to shoot her if she shouted. So because of that, she kept quiet. So when she came back I checked her as a mother and saw that somebody had touched her.”
“I immediately reported the matter to the Bori Police Division, and my niece identified the errant cop before she was taken to the hospital by the Investigating Police Officer at the police division where I reported the incident.
“The doctor on duty confirmed that there was penetration.”
She said at this point, despite Emmanuel’s denial, other officers arrested him and took him to SCID, where he is being detained.
Rivers state police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the incident, said the officer is still in detention, adding that investigation is still ongoing.
Iringe-Koko said: “The police officer denied that nothing of such happened, but yes, I can confirm that he has been arrested and in custody.
“Investigation is ongoing to unravel what really happened, and the appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken if he is found culpable.”