Two brothers have abducted and raped a 14-year-old girl in Erima community in Ogba/Egnema Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was gathered that the girl was walking along a lonely path in the community last week Saturday while going to her uncle’s house when one of the hoodlums simply identified as ‘Honest’ working in connivance with his other sibling, Okwukwe, swooped on her.

A community source, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that several hours later, the mother of the girl, wondering why her daughter had not returned, went to her elder brother’s house where the girl was going only to find out that her daughter was not there.

Worried by the development, the source said the woman raised the alarm and started crying around the community and ran into a local vigilante, leading to the arrest of one of the suspects.

“It was then that the vigilant people started searching for the girl and saw that the brothers, after kidnapping the girl, took her to a house near a bush and took turns to rape the girl,” he said.

Speaking to newsmen on Sunday, the Second in Command of the vigilante known as the ONELGA Security Planning and Advisory Committee in Egi community, Onuigba Chinonye, said he was on patrol with his men when they saw the distraught woman.

Chinonye explained, “I was on patrol with some of my boys when we met one woman crying that her 14-year-old daughter had been missing since Saturday till Sunday morning.

“I asked the woman which area, and she told us where she was staying and where the girl was going before. So we started investigating, and through some good neighbours too, we found out where the girl was.

“When we went into the place, we saw two brothers, senior and junior, raping the little girl in an isolated compound near a bush.”

Continuing, the vigilante official said, “In the process of trying to arrest them, the senior one proved stubborn and tried to fight us.

“As my boys were dragging him, his junior brother ran away. So, we now apprehended the senior one and handed him over to Egi Police Division Headquarters in Obite, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.”

Chinonye advised youths in the community to shun criminal behaviours and embrace meaningful ventures in order to be useful to themselves.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Iringe-Koko stated, “He (suspect) is in our custody, and he will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.

“The Commissioner of Police has ordered the Divisional Police Officer to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspect in order for him to also face the law.” (Sunday PUNCH: Text, Excluding Headline)

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