Date Published: 09/20/11

Gang Rape: Police Yet to Commence Investigation...
…IMO, Abia Police Commands Pass Buck
…It Happened on  ABSU Campus, in Imo says Abia Police
…No, it happened in Abia, insists Imo Police Command

There are indications that the Nigeria Police has not started investigation to apprehend those behind the alleged raping of a lady believed to be a student of Abia State University.

The lady was gang raped by five students suspected to be members of a cult group in the university, who recorded and later posted the video on the Internet on August 17, 2011.

But more than a month after the incident, the police have yet to begin an investigation that could lead to the arrest of the suspects.

While the Commissioner of Police, Abia State Command, Mr. Bala Hasan, had insisted that the incident did not take place in the state but rather on a campus of ABSU in Imo State, an officer at the Imo State Police Command said the crime was not committed in Imo.

The police officer, who did not want to be quoted because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, told PUNCH METRO that he had called the Area Commander in charge of Okigwe on the matter.

He said, “I called the Area Commander in charge of Okigwe, but he (area commander) said nothing like that happened in Imo State. The Abia CP claimed the incident happened in Imo State.

“But based on what I have gathered, the incident did not happen in Imo State. The crime was committed in Abia. Why is the CP in Abia saying it happened in Imo?”

The catalogue of denials from the police indicates that they are yet to begin a search for the suspected rapists with a view to arresting and bringing them to book.

Meanwhile, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has condemned the incident and called on parents to be alive to their responsibility by giving their children sound moral upbringing.

Speaking on behalf of the organisation’s President-General, the National Publicity Secretary, Ralph Ndigwe, blamed lack of parental guidance for the act and other cases of rape involving Nigerian students.

He said, “The advice is for parents to hold their children. It is not in the character of the children to misbehave or seek to become rapists but once the upbringing is faulty, they are bound to misbehave later in life.

“Most of the cult members, rapists and armed robbers we find in our universities and polytechnics are products of bad upbringing and broken homes.

“If only parents and guardians would face squarely the responsibility of guiding their children and wards to the right path, then the Igboland and Nigeria in general would be better for it.”

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, however, said rape was not new to the society, but taking videos of the victim was “Sheer wickedness.” It urged the Federal Government to look into the matter immediately.

Courtesy Punch