The Bayelsa state police command has arrested a 45-year-old man, identified simply as Ifeanyi, for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl, Gloria (surname withheld).
The victim just two years ago, was raped by another man who made her pregnant. The product of that rape is now seven months old.
The latest rape occurred on Wednesday at a hotel in the Ekeki area of Yenagoa, the state capital.
According to Punch, Gloria said the suspect deceived her that he was going to help her get empowerment from the state’s Ministry of Women Affairs.
According to the victim, the suspect had told her and her mother that the government was empowering teenage mothers in the state and that he was going to use his position to help her to get some reliefs from government.
But unknown to Gloria, the promise was simply a ploy to enable the suspect to have the opportunity to abuse her sexually.
She said,
“On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, as I was at home, Ifeanyi, a friend to our neighbour, came to the house and told my mother that he wanted to take me to Women Affairs Ministry. He said that government was giving empowerment to those that gave birth under 18 years. So, my mother asked me to go with him.
“On our way, we stopped at a bank where he withdrew nmoney and thereafter, we went to Women Affairs Ministry.
“When we got to the ministry, he went inside and came back to tell me that they asked us to come back by 10.00 AM the following day.
“Somehow, I lost the money my mother gave me for transport. So, Ifeanyi said he would take me home. He stopped a tricycle operator and discussed with him. I did not know what they discussed. By the time we entered the tricycle, the operator passed our area. I drew his attention to it and he said somebody was calling him and that he was going to see the person. He said I should not bother and that he would bring me back since he was the one that came to take me from our home.
“The tricycle operator took us straight to a hotel at Ekeki, behind the Christ Apostolic Church. I stood outside the hotel, holding my baby; but he urged me to come inside.
“When I refused to go inside, he came to where I was standing, pushed me inside the room and locked the door. I started shouting, but nobody appeared to hear me. I later learnt that the manager of the hotel had gone to buy fuel.
“As I was screaming, he forcefully took my baby from me and threw her on the floor. Thereafter, he pounced on me and raped me.”
The teenager claimed that by the time Ifeanyi finished raping her, she had bruises and blood stains on her private part.
She said that in her pains, she managed to carry her baby and headed for Ekeki Police Station to report the case.
“When I got home, I told my mum what happened. Later, some policemen came and started looking for him. The policemen were just hanging around, waiting for the call. It was learnt that later, the man went back to the hotel to pay the hotel bill, in the course of which the manager called the Police who apprehended him,” Gloria added.
Gloria, who lamented the abuse, said she was also raped when she was 12, stressing that since then, she has never been the same again.
She appealed to the relevant authorities to intervene in the matter for justice to prevail.
During a visit to Ekeki Police station, the suspect was sighted at Gender Department. Thereafter, Ifeanyi was taken inside for further investigation.
A senior police officer, who craved anonymity, said that because of the nature of the matter, the case would soon be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department.
When contacted, spokesman for Bayelsa Police Command, Asinim Butswat, said he has not been properly briefed on the matter.