A man known as Prince allegedly abducted and raped a 13-year-old girl in the Ogbogoro community in Rivers State.
The man kept the girl for two days after abducting her in a secluded area and then took her to his house on Monday evening.
The mother of the assaulted girl, identified as Ify, mentioned that she sent her daughter on an errand when the incident occurred.
The distressed woman explained, “I sent my 13-year-old daughter to buy charcoal and leaf for me on Monday around 5 pm. But I waited till 8 pm and didn’t see her. So, I became worried.
“So, we started looking for her. I went to the place where they were selling leaf and charcoal and was told they had not seen my daughter.
“We continued searching for her from street to street until Wednesday morning, past 12 pm, when we saw our daughter running towards us. We immediately asked her where she had been and why she was running. She said a man was pursuing her.
“We asked her to take us to the place where the man named Prince is staying, around what they call White House area in Ogbogoro.
“We saw the brother, and he said he was the one who took and held our daughter for two days while she was on an errand.
“I checked my daughter as a mother, and she has been touched. I’m calling on the government and police to arrest this man to pay for what he did to my daughter.”
A rights group, the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, reported that the parents of the girl got in touch with them three days after the incident and mentioned that the matter had been reported to the Ozuoba Police Division.
The National Coordinator of the group, Prince Wiro, stated, “The police should ensure the immediate arrest of the suspect to hold him accountable for his alleged crime.
“We also express concern about the safety of young girls in Ogbogoro, as this incident appears to be recurring, considering that a similar event occurred on February 15, 2024, in the same area. A 42-year-old man and two others abducted a 12-year-old girl to an unfinished building, where she was raped for days.
“The police must ensure that such incidents do not become common in that area.”
Upon inquiry, the spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, stated that she would find out and respond.
As of the time of filing this report on Wednesday, she had not done so.
