The Ebonyi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps says it has arrested a 43-year old man for allegedly defiling an eight-year old girl in a remote community in Izzi Local Government Area.
Francis Nnadi, the Corps’ Commandant in Ebonyi State, disclosed the arrest at a news conference on Tuesday in Abakaliki.
He said the suspect, whose victim was currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Abakaliki, had confessed to the crime.
Nnadi said that he would soon be charged to court on the conclusion of the investigation.
He said: “Our officers arrested a 43-year-old man, Mr Emmanuel (surname withheld) for defiling an eight-year old girl.
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“The suspect is in our custody.
“He will be arraigned to court once investigations on the matter are concluded.”
The NSCDC chief said that the command within the period under review also arrested three suspects allegedly caught in possession of 60 jerrycans of premium motor spirit, popularly known as petrol, suspected to have been stolen.
According to him, the suspects have allegedly confessed to the crime.
Nnadi said: “There are some people who are busy engaging in illegal purchase and sales of petrol and you noticed that the price of the commodity has skyrocketed, these hoodlums buy and store these highly inflammable products in residential homes.
“Some vandalise petrol pipelines and some outrightly deal in illegal petrol business without considering the risk to the public.
“How can you store over 60 25-litres of jerry cans loaded with petrol in a residential environment, you know how hazardous it is?
“So, we arrested three of the suspects and they will soon be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction at the end of our investigation.”
Nnadi warned residents of the state to be mindful of people who come to their neighbourhoods in the guise of dealing in scraps or waste iron and aluminium materials.
He said a good number of them allegedly vandalise public and private owned infrastructures.
He said that the corps also arrested a suspect with a full load of scraps in an articulated vehicle, suspected to have been obtained from vandalised bridges and public infrastructure.
He said: “One of the core mandates of the corps is to protect federal, state and local governments infrastructure and critical assets and in the cause of our operations; intelligence-based, we came across some people who are dealing in scraps.
“Some were caught with vandalised items believed to have been from a vandalised bridge and some with telecom masts; investigation will reveal where they stole them from,” he said.
The Commandant expressed the readiness and commitment of the corps to combat crime and flush out criminals from the state.
Nnadi called for synergy among the various levels of security agencies in the state to effectively contain crime and criminality, especially with the approaching of Christmas.
“As criminals are getting more emboldened and adopting new strategies in their nefarious activities, so also our men and officers are acquiring more training and upscaling their skills and capabilities to deal with them,” he said.
He commended the Commandant General of the Corps, Dr. Ahmed Audi, for enhancing the professional efficiency and capabilities of men and officers of the corps through regular training, retraining and prioritising of welfare of staff.
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