BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
An 18-year-old secondary school leaver, Miss Adanna Ezeali, has been allegedly raped and murdered by suspected area boys.
Adanna, a resident of Umuogudu Umuniko Isu in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was said to have been ambushed at her compound around 10 pm, on March 22, and kidnapped by the suspected gangsters.
The hoodlums were said to have raped the teenager in turns before allegedly strangulating her and dumping her lifeless body at a mechanic workshop located in the neighbourhood.
Narrating the incident, the victim’s elder sister, who simply identified herself as Promise, said that she was receiving a call from a friend in Lagos when her sister was reportedly abducted by some persons she suspected to be ‘area boys.’
Promise further explained that Adanna’s friend, who was on the phone with her before her abduction, later put a call to her mother reporting that he heard Adanna scream suddenly during their conversation.
Following the hint, the family started searching for her and later discovered her lifeless body at a mechanic workshop with bloodstains around her private part.
“Adanna Ezeali is my younger sister. She was 18 years old before her gruesome murder on 22nd March 2022. She just finished her secondary school after sitting for the last West Africa Examination Council. Our mother, Mrs. Patricia Ezeali sells premium motor spirit popularly known as petrol in gallons in (our village) Nkwegu Isu market.
“We normally assist our mother at the market. On March 22, around 10 pm, my mother, my late sister and I came back from the market to our compound. As we were trying to park our wares into the house, my late sister got a call from her friend in Lagos, so she stayed away from our hearing to receive the call.
“We want justice for my sister. We want her rapists and killers to be fished out. We call on our governor, the Inspector General of Police and the Human Rights Commission to assist us in getting justice for the murder of Adanna”
“We didn’t suspect anything evil, so we went inside with the hope that she would join us after receiving her call. We were about to eat dinner when my mother’s phone started ringing. It was a call from the Lagos friend whom she (Adanna) was chatting with. He called to find out what happened to my sister. The Lagos friend told us that he heard Adanna scream suddenly for help in the background during their telephone conversation. After receiving the devastating information, we abandoned the dinner and started searching for her.
“We couldn’t find her that night. The following morning, 23rd March, we resumed our search. We found her dead, naked and bleeding through the vagina at a motor mechanic workshop in our neighbourhood. She was no longer wearing her skirt and pants. She was only wearing her blouse. We suspect that area boys were behind this. I guess they gang-raped and strangulated her thereafter because she identified them,” Promised said, sobbing.
Meanwhile, the deceased family has cried out to the state government, the Inspector General of Police and the National Human Rights Commission among others to assist in apprehending the perpetrators and getting justice for their teenage daughter.
Speaking for the family, Promise said, “Our Coordinator in Isu Development Centre, Mr. Chima Udeh and the Councilor in charge of Amanato Ward, Mr. Okoro Uchenna, accompanied me to Isu Police Division for complaint and we had deposited her corpse in the mortuary.
“We want justice for my sister. We want her rapists and killers to be fished out. We call on our governor, the Inspector General of Police and the Human Rights Commission to assist us in getting justice for the murder of Adanna.”
The National Human Rights Commission in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, vowed to secure justice for Adanna. The State Coordinator, Onyekachi Okorie, gave the assurance in Abakaliki recently when the report was filed by the victim’s family.
The complaint, written by Promise, reads, “I call on the National Human Rights Commission and the Inspector General of Police to ensure justice for my sister. We want justice, let the perpetrators be made to face the full weight of the law to serve as a deterrent.
“Some time ago, one of the area boys threatened to deal with me for looking at him. This is how they go about intimidating people in the neighbourhood. Let justice prevail. My sister has not done any evil to warrant being gruesomely murdered.”
