The family of a 17-year-old girl, Munachi Obasi-Igwe, who was raped and killed in the Amakporo-Agbebo area of Ebonyi State has decried the release of one of the suspects by the state police.
The victim’s father, Paul Obasi-Igwe, queried why the suspect was released without being charged to court.
Paul and his daughter, who were from Amakporo Onicha village, went to a neighbouring town, Agbebo Isu, to grind cassava.
Munachi, a Senior Secondary School one pupil at Winners International Secondary School, Amakporo Onicha, was reportedly left by her father in the care of some elderly women, who also queued up for the same purpose.
The victim was said to have headed back home without her father, who had not returned to pick her up after the cassava grounder was done and the shop closed.
On her way back, she was allegedly attacked by some hoodlums, as no fewer than four men raped and killed her before dumping her body in the bush.
Some members of the gang were later arrested.
Paul said one of them was granted bail without the knowledge of the family.
He said, “This sad incident almost resulted in a war between the two communities as my village people were already on ground but the elders of the town intervened and the residents took her corpse to a mortuary with a promise to produce the culprits within seven days.
“The leader of the gang was caught after four days of search and he named three other people involved, making four, who gang-raped and killed my daughter.
“The police told us that the fourth person could not be arrested because he gave an alibi and the rest were transferred to the Abakaliki police headquarters for further investigation.
“The gang leader confessed to the police that my daughter was raped and murdered.”
A family member, Onyegbuchi Obasi-Igwe, told PUNCH Metro that an officer confirmed to him that one of the suspects had been released.
He said, “I met with the Investigating Police Officer, Benice Ugwuanyin, who said only one of the suspects claimed to have committed the act. But one person can’t overpower the girl and from the comments gathered at Agbebo Isu community, it is one of the associates that passed a knife to the suspect who slaughtered the deceased.
“The IPO telephoned me a day after and asked me to come to the station but I told her that I would not be able to make it. During our conversation on the phone that day, she said they have released one of the suspects on bail and I responded that it’s not proper to release a rape and murder suspect on bail without informing the family of the deceased and she explained further that the released suspect would return and they would all be charged to court.
“We visited the station the following day and met the IPO’s immediate boss who denied that anybody was released.
“We are appealing to the government of Ebonyi State, well-meaning individuals of the community and Nigerians to come to our aid and ensure that the perpetrators are made to pay for their crime.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chris Anyanwu, had yet to respond to the allegation as of the time of filing this report.
