AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
A bicycle seller in Abakliki, the Ebonyi State capital, has been arrested, arraigned and subsequently remanded in the Correctional Center at Abakaliki for rape.
The suspect, Emeka Chukwuani, a married man from Awgu, Enugu State, who sells bicycles along the Ezza Road axis of Abakaliki, allegedly snatched the victim’s phone and ran into the state-owned moribund relaxation center, popularly known as Fatilami Park.
He was said to have raped her in the park after beating her mercilessly.
The Chairman of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Human Rights Defenders, Sampson Oko-Nweke, who effected the arrest and prosecution of the bicycle seller, narrated that the incident took place between 8.30pm and 9pm on Saturday, 28th November, 2020.
He said, “On Saturday 28th November 2020, between 8.30pm and 9pm, HURIDE got a distress call, reporting that someone (a young girl) was being raped at Fatilami Park, Abakaliki. Immediately, we made sporadic phone calls and the alleged rapist was arrested by the police as he was already fleeing.
“His name is Emeka Chukwuani, a married man from Awgu, Enugu State. He sells bicycles somewhere along Ezza Road, Abakaliki here.
“When we got to the crime scene, it was so horrible. We saw the wailing victim with bruises and wounds all over her body with multiple bites. She received a serious hit on the mouth which left all her front teeth shaky. There was blood everywhere. When we inquired about how it happened, the victim managed to explain.”
Oko-Nweke said since the suspect’s arrest on Saturday, his wife and relatives had been calling and begging HURIDE to help them “destroy justice.”
He said, “They had approached the father of the victim, begging and threatening. They also tried to intimidate and threaten the girl. But within this period of threats and intimidation, HURIDE never forsook the victim. She had always been consoled and encouraged to remain strong.
“As this was happening, however, HURIDE had notified the National Human Rights Commission and other relevant CSOs in the State. They all, on team spirit as usual, became aware and got strongly involved in the matter.
“So, today, Tuesday 1st December 2020, amidst all distractions and persuasions, we persevered for justice and the suspect was finally arraigned in the state Magistrate’s Court and was subsequently remanded.”
Narrating her ordeal to our correspondent, the victim said, “My name is Chinenye Nwizzi. I am 23 years old. I was going home with my younger sister. That was around 8pm. We saw this man on the way. He stopped and wanted to talk to us, but we continued to move. He followed us and snatched my phone and ran into Fatilami Park. We ran after him to give us our phone.
“Immediately we go to the photo stand there, he grabbed my neck and we began to struggle. As we struggled, he was biting me everywhere including my ear, my cheek, my shoulder, my back and somewhere close to my private part. My sister was shouting but nobody was there to help us.
“When my sister was trying to drag him away from my body, he broke a bottle on her head and she ran outside crying while I was shouting inside. It was when he hit my mouth with the bottle that I became somehow unconscious and I woke up later to see he had raped me.
“I was surprised when I heard gun shots and two persons came inside. He tried to run away but they apprehended him. That was when I realised they were police officers. They saved me and my sister.”
