A bizarre incident happened in the sleepy village of Wumba on the outskirts of Abuja metropolis last year when a 13 year old girl, Ngozi Nwosu went out to hawk banana on behalf of her mother.
Ngozi and her 3 other siblings had been abandoned by their father to their mother and had to survive through menial jobs.
On this fateful day towards the third quarter of 2019, Ngozi went to hawk her banana wares and was beckoned by the 50 Year old man she simply described as “Uncle Double”.
The FCT Police has now discovered his name to be Okezie Okoro. She got to him and under the pretext that he wanted to buy banana, forced and raped Ngozi, who was 13 years old at the time.
After his wicked act, “Uncle Double” Okoro warned Ngozi never to mention it to anyone or she dies.
The poor girl kept the incident to herself!
Shortly after that, she went hawking again and “Uncle Double” again accosted her, raped her again, this time with two other men.
Ngozi got pregnant after that and delivered a baby boy at Fidelity Hospital, Wumba this week.
Outraged by this development, Nze Chidi Duru, politician and businessman took up the issue by approaching the FCT Police Commissioner, CP Bala Ciroma who immediately dispatched a 6-member strong team from the FCT Police CID to take up the case.
Ngozi was this morning discharged from the hospital while the Police vowed to fish out the alleged rapists and prosecute them.
Meanwhile, as public outrage continues over the unfortunate incident, Nze Duru has commenced moves to rally local and international support for the girl who hails from a very poor home and would not be able to cater for her baby except she receives helping hands from public spirited individuals.
Speaking exclusively with DgovScoops, Nze Duru vowed to not only ensure justice for the young girl, but rally necessary support for her sustenance.
”This is a very wicked act and it must not go unpunished. I have not been myself since I heard about the issue this morning. How can anyone be this callous to a girl of 13? Thank God CP Ciroma has taken up the gauntlet by ordering an immediate investigation into the case and bring the culprits to book.
In the meantime, I have reached out to my ALUMNI at Lagos Business School to raise funds for the rehabilitation of the girl and care for her baby boy. I have also appealed to my colleagues in the National Assembly both former and present to come to the aid of Ngozi.
Members of the Lagos Business School (LBS) Alumni, Northern Zone led by its President, Mrs Ekaette Umoh, and senior staff of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) led by Harry Ogwuche Obe on Thursday visited the home of Ngozi Nwosu.
Speaking at the occasion, Mrs Umoh said the LBS Alumni Association developed special interest in the girl’s case because she is still a minor.
She assured that members of her association would ensure that they take proper care of the girl up to the university level.
In her words: ”We are here because a minor is involved. Rape is involved and a criminal offence is involved. Therefore, we are not here for a short term but a long term. Long enough to make Ngozi a functional, economically viable human being in the near future. We’ll take care of her welfare and that of her child, her education up to the university level and we have already opened an account for that for her. We shall ensure she gets justice for this evil done her”.
In his speech, the Director, Women, Children and Vulnerable Department of the NHRC, Obe, said the agency was aware of the case and would follow it up with the Police to a logical conclusion.
He also assured that justice would be served in the rape case.
When dgovscoops visited the Apo Resettlement Police Station where the case is being handled, the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Usman Abini said the alleged rapist, Okezie Okoro had been arrested by his men and would be transferred to the Criminal Investigation’s Department for further investigations and prosecution.
▪ By dgovscoops.ng