A 20-year-old man, identified only as Uche, was apprehended by the Diobu Vigilante group, on Thursday, while allegedly r*ping a 16-year-old girl in an uncompleted building on Ekwe Street, Mile 3 Diobu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, PUNCH Metro reports.
It was learnt that the man was caught in the act around 1pm by residents who saw him and his friends forcing the teenager into the building.
According to the Chief Security Officer of the vigilante group, Godstime Ihunwo, the suspect was immediately handed over to the police.
Ihunwo told PUNCH Metro that his men swung into action after receiving the report of the incident from residents of the area.
He added that while the suspect was handed over to the police, his accomplices escaped.
He said, “Around 1pm, people called me from Ekwe Street, Mile 3 Diobu, Port Harcourt, that they saw some boys trying to rape a girl and I quickly sent my men to the scene.
“When my men got to the place, they caught one Uche raping a girl, who is about 16 or 17 years old while he was having carnal knowledge of the victim and brought him to our office. I immediately called the Divisional Police Officer of the Nkpolu Police Division, who sent a team and picked up the suspect and the victim.
“There were three of them, who participated in the act, but the others saw our men and escaped, but Uche, who was already having carnal knowledge of the girl, was caught.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident and added that the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, had ordered that the matter be transferred to the state Criminal Investigative Department for investigation.
“The Commissioner of Police has ordered that the matter be transferred to the state CID; the suspect and the victim were in my office and the suspect confessed that he was about having carnal knowledge of the teenager before he was arrested,” Omoni stated.
