The Benin zonal command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Friday arrested a 62-year-old bootmaker, who allegedly raped a 12-year-old student of Aduwawa Secondary School, in Ikpoba Okha Local Government, Edo state.
Commander NAPTIP Benin Zonal Office, Nduka Nwanwenne, in a statement made available to newsmen, said the victim, a secondary school student sells ‘zobo drink’ for her mother.
Nwanwenne said the victim was patronized by the suspect, Mr. Chukwudi Augustine, who allegedly offered N500 to pay for N5O zobo drink and that the victim had no change and left to come back later because she was conversant with the environment.
Two weeks later, the victim went back to the suspect’s shop to collect the money but she met his absence. She was however directed by the suspect’s boy to his house, which was close by. On knocking on the door, the suspect dragged her in and defiled her. It was the cry of the victim that attracted neighbours who opened the door to rescue her.
According to Nwanwenne, “the suspect, who hails from Ishagu community in Ohazaria local government area of Ebonyi State, admitted to the crime as the investigation is being conducted to charge him to court”
He added that the suspect upon realizing that the law will catch up with him, allegedly tried to settle the victim’s mother with a sum of N50,000 and later reduced it to N30,000 before he was apprehended by men of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence corps (NSCDC), Edo State Command, who eventually handed him over to NAPTIP.
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