By Praise Chinecherem
A 75-year old barber, Nwankwo Nweke has been arrested for allegedly defiling an 8 year old girl in Awka, Anambra State.
The suspect, a native of Isi Agu in Awka South local government area of the state, blamed the devil for the act.
He confessed that temptation led him to have carnal knowledge of the girl, pleading for mercy and promising to be of good behavior if pardoned.
Earlier, parents of the victim, Mr John and Mrs Ogochukwu Ugwuanyi explained that they sent their daughter on errand at nearby shop around 7pm when the incident happened.
The father said, “When she came back, we noticed the items were incomplete and we asked her to return to the shop but she didn’t come back after a while.
“I asked her mother to quickly go to the shop to look for her but she didn’t see her which prompted us to raise alarm over her sudden disappearance within the neighborhood.
“Meanwhile, we didn’t know that while we were busy looking for her, the old man had already taken her to his house and defiled her, ordering her not to answer to her name.
“When she eventually returned and we questioned her about what transpired between her and the man, she confessed to have been lured by the man to his house with a promise to give her mango.
“We quickly invited security operatives who arrested him while we rushed our child to the hospital where it was confirmed she was defiled.
Reacting to the incident, Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Hon Ify Obinabo assured the 8 year old victim of justice.
She regretted that certain bad elements were still engaging in such crimes, despite the state government’s fight against rape and defilement, warning that warning perpetrators must serve jail term when arrested.
