* escapes lynching by angry mob
A 60-year-old patent medicine dealer, who allegedly defiled a four-year-old girl (name withheld) in Otukpo town in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue state at the weekend, narrowly escaped being lynched by an angry mob.
The suspect, Clement Ikechukwu Ogenyi, now in police net was believed to have lured the minor into his room and had carnal knowledge of her few days ago.
Daily Trust gathered that the victim was earlier sent to buy Vitamin C tablets from the suspect’s medicine store close to her home when the incident happened.
A relative of the minor had narrated that the unpleasant way which the girl walked back home prompted further probe that led to the discovery of her defilement, adding that the actual incident happened on Tuesday while the man was arrested on Friday.
“When the girl came home on Tuesday, we discovered she was walking funny. So, I took her inside my house and checked her after she revealed to me that Ikechukwu, popularly known as Ad’Egbo’ (meaning Baba Igbo), kissed and touched her mouth and private part with his penis,” the source said.
The relative added that the alleged rapist, when confronted, denied but stressed that the delay in reporting the matter to the vigilante on Friday occurred as a result of intervention by a friend of the suspect who wanted a medical examination carried out on the victim.
Our correspondent however, learnt that soon after the matter became public knowledge, an angry mob almost lynched the suspect as further revelations suggested that he had molested other minors in the neighbourhood in the past but the vigilante’s insistence to handover the matter to the police saved his life.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the state command, DSP Catherine Anene, confirmed that the suspect was already in custody of the police in Otukpo.
Anene said the suspect would be transferred to the command’s headquarters as soon as possible for further investigation and trial.
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