TWO teenage girls have been reportedly killed and mutilated in Okekwu Village, near Ogbogbo, in Igalamela/Odolu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The ICIR reports that the girls identified as Ajuma Simon, 17, and Omojo Shuaibu, 18, were returning from a local market at about 7.00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30, when they were ambushed just two kilometres from Okekwu and killed by suspected armed bandits.
Residents who spoke with journalists said the girls were trekking along a bush path leading to their village. Their assailants allegedly ran after them in a bid to rape them.
The girls were said to have run for about 300 metres before they became tired, and their killers pounced on them before dismembering them.
The assailants macheted and butchered the girls beyond recognition.
Sources recounted hearing the victims screaming for help during the attack, but by the time the villagers arrived at the scene, the victims had already been dismembered.
One of the community sources said that when people arrived at the scene, one of the victims was still alive and revealed that the armed men came intending to either rape or kidnap them.
The source also said local security personnel and youths mobilised to the scene Thursday morning and evacuated the bodies, which were subsequently deposited at a morgue in Idah, Idah Local Government Area.
The ICIR contacted the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, William Ovye Aya, to seek a reaction to the incident.
Aya, who Daily Trust said confirmed the report, denied knowledge of the incident.
He promised to consult and reach out to this organisation after his findings.
He thereafter did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his phone line.
The girls’ killing adds to the growing homicide rate in the state.
The ICIR reported that a photojournalist, Ayo Aiyepekun, was recently murdered in Lokoja, the state capital.
Aiyepekun, who until his death worked with Inside Story, a platform based in Lokoja, was allegedly killed on Tuesday, July 22, by his neighbour, Adebayo Pelumi.
According to the victim’s colleague, the suspect called the deceased to assist him with his poultry farm, located within the compound, where the Inside Story also operates from.
The deceased and the suspect lived within the premises.
Unknown to the suspect, another colleague, who witnessed the killing, was within the building, working on a video with the deceased. The incident occurred around 7:30 pm.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.