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A 27-year-old tricycle (Keke) operator is now in police custody for allegedly defiling a 10-year-old girl in Use Offot, Uyo local government area of Akwa Ibom state.
The suspect, identified as Edet Sunday Edem, who hails from Oku Iboku in Itu local government area of the state, was allegedly apprehended by vigilant youths in the area after committing the crime.
He was said to have lured the girl to his rented apartment in Use Offot, Uyo metropolis.
The girl whose name is withheld was noticed by passers-by and was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua, for medical attention.
Mariam Daniels, a member of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Journalists Alliance Against Gender Based Violence, who took the girl to the hospital, said she noticed that the girl was lying helplessly in the market square.
According to Daniels, moved by the victim’s pitiable state of health, she insisted that she should be taken to the suspect’s residence.
She said when she arrived the suspect’s apartment she saw traces of blood stains on the floor.
Speaking to our correspondent, the youth leader of Use Offot, Fabian Ikpe, said the community was worried about the crime and had to search for the suspect, adding that when he was found, he wanted to know whether or not he would be allowed to go scot-free.
“We told him that he should cooperate with us, but we took him to the police station,”he said.
In his statement at the Ewet Housing Estate Police station, the suspect said apart from being a tricycle operator, he is a senior official of a church.
“Yes, I slept with her, but when I noticed that she was bleeding, I cleaned the blood from the floor,” he said.
It was further gathered that the wife of Governor Udom Emmanuel, Martha Udom Emmanuel, has stepped into the matter with a view to giving the girl special medical treatment.
According to the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Glory Edet, at least seven persons had so far been convicted of rape and defilement.
