Teenage girl knocked unconscious, raped in Kogi

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By Yabagi Ahmed

It was like twisting the knife following a stab. You can even call it pouring the salt on an injury to exacerbate the pain. Whatever you call it, it is an inhuman conduct by a human being against his fellow human being.

With tears dripping down her cheeks as she narrated her ordeal at the Headquarters of the Kogi State Command of the Nigeria Police in Lokoja last week, the victim, 18 years Miss Gloria Azigima (not real name), told our reporter how she was attacked, knocked unconscious and raped.

She said few days after the criminal act, even before she recovered from the bitter experience; she found out that gory images of the whole episode have been printed and were being distributed within her neighbourhood and the town of Ankpa, and that the video has been posted on the internet.

According to her, the chief accused person, Musa Bala, who has been pestering her, making endless love advances which she consistently rebuffed, in company of his friends, waylaid her on the fateful day in February, this year, precisely on the 10th while she was returning home from an errand.

The victim of the dastardly act said the suspect seized her cell phone and while she followed him to retrieve her phone, he hit her with a ring he wore on one of his fingers, which she suspected was charmed and she went blank. The suspect and his accomplices later swarmed on her even in her unconscious state.

On his part, the suspect, Musa Bala who denied raping the girl, said she was his girlfriend and that on the said day, it was his friend and co-suspect, Umar Faruk, and two others (who are still at large) that raped her. He said he is being framed up on the matter because he frowned at the idea of engaging in the dastardly act.

Reacting to the allegation, the second suspect, Umar Faruk confessed to The Graphic that he was the one that seized the cell phone but said it was Musa that took it away with the intention that the girl would follow them and try to recover it, and that would give them the long desired opportunity to sleep with her.

Also in police net is the man allegedly responsible for uploading the pictures on the internet and distribution of the images, Uchenna Chiaghanam, who however denied knowledge of the pictures. He said he only got to know about them after he was arrested by the Police and brought to Lokoja from his base in Ankpa.

Meanwhile, the suspects had been arraigned at the Chief Magistrate Court 2, Lokoja by Magistrate A.S Husaini. He rejected the plea for bail for the suspects by their Defence Counsel, T.J Jonathan (Miss), and remanded them at the Federal Prisons, Ankpa.

The case has however been adjourned and transferred to Ankpa for further hearing.
Courtesy: Graphics Newspaper