A former member of the now disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Anambra State has been arrested over alleged case of serial defilement.
Reports say the suspect, better known as Ejima, was nabbed by members of the vigilante at Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government Area, and handed over to the Police.
Five under-aged children from four different parents, between the ages of five and 11 years – all from Ebonyi State – were allegedly defiled in the suspect’s apartment.
One of the victims (names withheld) said the suspect invited them to his house to rest after asking them to fetch water for him.
She said: “He later asked the oldest two among us to cook for him while he asked the youngest to sleep on the bed and the other on a mat.
“While we were busy with the assignments he gave us, we observed him defiling those who were sleeping. He even requested we join in the show.”
Asked why they did not raise the alarm, two of the victims said the suspect warned that they riskd being beaten, if they did.
The victims’ parents, on their part, said the news of the defilement came to them as a rude shock, as they least expected it from the suspect.
Father of two girls among the victims, who pleaded anonymity, said: “When I got back from Church, my wife told me that the children she sent to fetch water at a nearby compound were yet to return several hours later.
“We looked for them everywhere and had to involve local vigilante for a wider search.
“It was later in the evening that my children came back alongside other kids within the neighborhood. When I accosted them, they confessed that they were defiled.”
While revealing that the suspect used to visit his wife’s mini restaurant, where he normally played with the kids, the visibly devastated man said they never suspected he would be involved in such an act.
Parents of the other victims, petty traders and a tailor respectively, also confirmed that the suspect had been in the habit of moving out with girls, both young and old, soliciting government’s assistance in getting justice for their kids.
Reports further said the victims have been taken to the hospital where they were examined and treatment at no cost, while the suspect is being held at the State CID from where he would be charged to court.
The Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, warned that anyone found guilty of any crime would not go unpunished.
She urged parents and caregivers to be vigilant and careful of who they leave their wards with.
“Once the law finds the suspect guilty of the crime leveled against him, he will not go unpunished. We warn others who are using their positions to perpetuate crime to desist forth with or face the full wrath of the law,” she said.