By CHARLES IWUOHA

A middle-aged housewife (name withheld) has narrowly escaped being strangled to death on her farm at Ozara Village of Umukabia Ogodo Autonomous Community, Ngor-Okpala LGA of Imo State, allegedly by two Fulani herdsmen who reportedly raped the woman and attempted to strangle her.

The incident which occurred Saturday afternoon, caused pandemonium as the youths and men of the community and its neighbours combed all bushes and farmlands in search of the suspected rapists.

An eyewitness account revealed that the woman, who had gone to her farm that fateful morning, was surrounded by her attackers while she was busy working. They suddenly grabbed her, pulled up her dress and forcibly had carnal knowledge of her in series.

The marauding herdsmen were said to have attempted to kill their hapless victim when she raised an alarm during the sex romp and attracted the attention of another woman on a nearby farm who rushed out to alert the villagers about the incident.

The suspected rapists, it was learnt, held their victim down by her neck, choking her until the noise of advancing villagers scared them to flee, abandoning her in the bush.

The youths of Umukabia alerted neighbouring communities, who joined the search party and pursued the fleeing rapists until one of them was apprehended around Nguru/Ulakwo axis of Ngor-Okpala LGA and immediately handed over to the police.

According to a source, one of the attackers could not be nabbed that day and was still at large at the time of this report.

However, protests greeted the taking over of the suspect by the police at Ngor Okpala Police Division Headquarters as the people complained about the lacklustre handling of similar cases by police in the past.

News Expressgathered that only a fortnight ago, a 14-year-old girl was also raped by five herdsmen in a bush in the community and the girl is currently undergoing treatment while the herdsmen taken to the police have been reportedly freed.

Efforts to reach the traditional ruler of Umukabia Ogodo Community, HRH Eze Emmanuel Ekeh, probed abortive because his phone was switched off just as the police authorities could not be reached to confirm the said incident.