Tragedy has struck Ette community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State as a 21-year-old man raped a 16-year-old relative to death.
The 16-year-old girl identified as Faith Akuji, was said to have met her untimely death after, the accused, Junior Augustine Akor, allegedly ambushed the deceased and had carnal knowledge of her forcefully in a nearby bush in the village.
Junior, who was arrested last Monday by the vigilante operatives in the area and detained by the state police command, was said to have confessed that he never intended to kill Faith.
It was further gathered that the suspect, while perpetrating the dastardly act, had mistakenly suffocated Faith to death while covering her mouth in a bid to prevent her from raising alarm.
In a statement issued by the spokesman of the state police command, Daniel Ndukwe (DSP), the victim had gone missing in the evening hours of June 8th, 2023, after her grandfather sent her to grind cassava in the community centre, with all efforts made to trace her whereabouts proving abortive.
Her decomposing body was, however, found in the bush at Mpole-Ubere in Ette community, following the arrest of the suspect, who confessed to having dragged the victim into the bush, forcefully had carnal knowledge of her, until she fainted and died in the process.
The victim’s remains, the police said, was found without any lower-body cloth, had since been evacuated to hospital and confirmed dead by doctors on duty.
Ndukwe disclosed that the case was undergoing further discreet investigation at the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (the State CID for short), from where the suspect would be arraigned in court upon conclusion of the investigation.
Consequently, the state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, while consoling the family and friends of the deceased victim, described the act as atrocious and unthinkable.
He, therefore, directed that the case be meticulously handled, concluded within record time and charged to court for justice to be dispensed accordingly.