A widow resident in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Helen Joseph, is crying out for justice following the alleged torturing and raping of her 15-year-old daughter, Miss Glory Joseph, by three local vigilante operatives.
It was gathered that the two of the operatives had been arrested for the act but were later freed in what the widow alleged was complicity of the police personnel.
The widow from Markurdi, Benue State, is a mother of six.
Narrating her daughter‘s ordeal to newsmen, Mrs Joseph appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the Commissioner of Police, and the Women Affairs Commissioner, Hon. Ify Obinabo, to come to her rescue before she was denied justice.
According to her, on that fateful day, three vigilante operatives and a girl stormed my apartment, and the girl accused her daughter of removing #13,000 she kept in a particular place, an allegation the daughter denied.
She said immediately, the vigilante men started beating her daughter and dragged her to their torture camp, even as they kept deaf ears to all her pleas that they should release her.
She further said in the night, they tortured her, and their leader raped her while others held her, and early in the morning the next day, they dumped her at the gate of their compound with blood all over her body and unconscious.
The widow said she immediately rushed to Ogidi police station, and one of them, the one that raped her daughter, was arrested, after which the police took her daughter to hospital where it was confirmed that she was raped.
She regretted that at the Ogidi Police station, instead of arresting the remaining two, the police tried to release the one they arrested without tangible reason before she got in touch with the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Tochukwu Ikenga, and the case was transferred to Awka.
“At Awka, the police arrested one more, making them two as the one at Ogidi was brought to Awka. The leaders of the vigilante group and friends of the vigilante group approached and begged me to take #50,000 and I said no that I wanted justice for my daughter.
“The next day, they came and pleaded with #100,000 and I said I want justice and they boasted to me that since I refused to take #100,000 they would give it to the police and those arrested would be released and true to their words, the two who were detained have been released.
“Because I don’t have anybody on my side, the police told me that they will come to Nkpor and interview people on the incident. Luckily for me, a neighbour, has confessed to me that it was her daughter that removed the controversial #13,000 and not my daughter and begged me to forgive her.
“I am pleading to Governor Soludo, Commissioner of Police and Women Affairs Commissioner, Hon. Ify Obinabo to come to my rescue before they deny me justice as my daughter now lives in pain,” she pleaded.
When our correspondent contacted the Policespokesperson in Anambra, Tochukwu Ikenga, he confirmed the incident, saying investigation was ongoing.
