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Umueri community in Anambra East Local Government of Anambra State has banished an 80-year-old man, Vincent Okoye, for allegedly defiling a 10-year-old girl.
The Eastern Updates reports that Okoye was allegedly caught defiling the girl at a building site where he was supervising, after the girl’s mother had sent her on an errand to him.
Traditional ruler of the community, Benneth Emeka, disclosed this while addressing a group, All Nations Arise and Manifest Initiative (ANAM), at the weekend in his palace.
He said the community does not tolerate such act, and that the suspect, who is a member of his royal cabinet, had been suspended.
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The monarch said, ‘The man in question is a member of my cabinet, he is my financial secretary and immediately the matter was reported, we suspended him and he can never come back to the cabinet again.
‘The matter has been taken to court and that shows that the community does not condone such crime. We have also given the girl scholarship to show our concern and protect her future. It could have been anybody’s child.
‘I’m advising parents, especially mothers to be cautious and take responsibility for the safety and security of their children.’
The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed that the suspect had been arrested and charged to court.
The Eastern Updates learnt that the man is a friend of the girl’s mother, and once in a while, she send her on errand to him, but workers in the building site noticed that each time the little girl came around, the man always took her to one of the rooms in the building site, where he securely locks the door.
The girl was also reported to have confessed that she has been serially defiled by the octogenarian, but was afraid to tell anyone, as she was told she would die if she told anyone.
