Dare Babalola
The Anambra State Police Command on Wednesday brought five individuals before a Special Court in Awka on charges related to rape, defilement, incest and child abuse.
The arraignment followed the conclusion of investigations by the State Criminal Investigation Department’s Gender Unit.
Among those charged is a middle-aged man accused of having sexual relations with his daughter and allegedly exposing her to a serious viral infection.
Police disclosed that the cases were committed at different locations across the state and were uncovered over several weeks in April 2026.
According to the command’s spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Tochukwu Ikenga, the suspects were presented in court on May 6, 2026.
He described the offences as “heinous and unacceptable” and said the Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, has reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting vulnerable persons, especially children, and ensuring that offenders face prosecution.
“The Gender Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department on April 22, 2026, received a case of defilement of a 16-year-old girl from Ogbunike Police Division Headquarters,” the statement read.
One of the accused, a 26-year-old estate security worker, is alleged to have dragged the teenager into an uncompleted building within the estate and forced himself on her.
He has since made a confessional statement, Ikenga said.
In a separate incident reported on April 23, a 36-year-old barber was accused of luring an 11-year-old girl into his shop in Neni and sexually assaulting her.
Investigators said they have obtained a medical report to support the proceedings.
The command also detailed a case transferred from Central Police Station Awka involving a 52-year-old man who allegedly took advantage of the mental condition of an 11-year-old girl. He is said to have lured her to his residence and assaulted her on April 21.
Another case involved a 46-year-old man accused of an ongoing incestuous relationship with a 20-year-old victim that began when she was 17.
The matter came to light after the victim tested HIV positive during a hospital visit.
“The suspect has made a confessional statement,” Ikenga added.
The fifth case concerns a 42-year-old woman alleged to have physically abused two children aged six and four by using a wire to inflict injuries.
The suspect claimed she had adopted the children from a motherless babies’ home in Onitsha.
The police say all five suspects were arraigned before the Special Court in Awka on May 6.
The Commissioner of Police has directed that the cases be handled with diligence and urgency, stressing that the command will not tolerate any form of abuse against minors or vulnerable persons.
