A police officer simply identified as Emmanuel has been arrested and detained after he allegedly defiled a 13-year-old girl in his office at the Bori Area Command in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Attached to the Bori Area Command, Emmanuel was said to have been detained at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the State Police Command on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu.
Narrating the incident to newsmen in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Saturday, the teenager’s aunty who gave her name as Love, said she sent the girl on an errand last Friday but was surprised that the girl did not return home that day, hence she started looking for her.
The teenager’s guardian explained that the girl, however, came back the next morning, Saturday, 13th January, and when she interrogated her, the girl narrated how the police officer held her that evening and defiled her in his office at the Bori Area Command till dawn.
She stated: “When she came back around 8am the following day, I asked her where she was coming from and where she slept last night.
“She told me that one police officer with two stars at the Area Command held her in his office at the Area Command, Bori, and raped her till daybreak.
“That he (officer) threatened to shoot her if she shouted. So because of that, she kept quiet. So when she came back I checked her as a mother and saw that somebody had touched her”.
Love said she immediately reported the matter to the Bori Police Division, adding that the girl identified the errant cop before she was taken to the hospital by the Investigating Police Officer at the police division where the incident was reported.
She added, “They now took her to their (police) hospital. The coctor on duty confirmed that there was penetration.”
She confirmed that Emmanuel’s colleagues took him to the SCID in Port Harcourt where he is being detained, even as she demanded justice for the teenager.
“All I want is for this matter to be properly investigated because he (the policeman) is still denying. So I want justice to be served,” the girl’s distraught aunt said.
Meanwhile, a rights group, Rainbow Watch And Development Centre that has been following up on the case has called for an unbiased and thorough investigation into the incident.
In a statement, the group’s Executive Director, Michael Gbarale described the development as unfortunate, saying the matter must not be swept under the carpet to serve as a deterrent to randy officers.
The statement read: “We commend the Commissioner of Police for the arrest of the officer who allegedly defiled a 13-year-old girl and transferred the case to the SCIID for proper investigation.
“We demand an unbiased and thorough investigation into the incident with a view to ensure that justice is served to all the parties concerned. We will closely monitor and follow the case to its logical conclusion”.
When contacted on Saturday evening, the spokesperson for the state police command, Deputy Superintendent Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident and arrest of the police officer, saying that the investigation is still ongoing on the matter.
She stated: “The police officer denied that nothing of such happened, But Yes, I can confirm that he has been arrested and in custody. Investigation is ongoing to unravel what really happened and the appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken if he is found culpable”.
