THE Imo State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old man, Ifeanyi Chukwu Joseph, suspected of throwing his girlfriend’s 17-year-old niece from a two-storey building at Mbonu Ejike, Owerri, Imo State.
The incident occurred on Sunday, November 1, when the suspect was reportedly alone in the apartment with the teenager after his girlfriend travelled to Lagos State.
Speaking with The ICIR, the Public Relations Officer of the Imo State Police Command, Henry Okoye, a deputy superintendent of police, confirmed the arrest, stating that officers rescued the suspect from an angry mob that was attempting to lynch him.
Okoye said the police also rescued the victim and rushed her to a hospital, where she was receiving treatment. He added that she would need the services of a neurosurgeon because the injury affected her brain.
“We wish her quick recovery so she can give her own account of the incident; although she is currently in a critical condition. It affected her brain and is something that requires a neurosurgeon,” Okoye said.
Okoye said the suspect told the police that he had accused the teenager of frequently bringing men into the apartment he rented for his girlfriend. According to the PPRO, the suspect claimed that an altercation broke out between them over the matter, during which he flogged her.
The officer said that neighbours heard the commotion and knocked on the apartment door. When they entered, they could not find the teenager inside the house but later spotted her lying on the ground outside after looking through a window.
According to Okoye, the suspect’s girlfriend brought the teenager from the village to live with her and the suspect in the apartment. He added that the suspect and his girlfriend were not married but had been living together with the teenager.
However, the police spokesperson said the command did not consider the suspect’s account conclusive, describing it as questionable.
“We are not taking his own account of the incident as the final arbiter because as a matter of fact, his own account is actually fishy. It doesn’t add up,” Okoye said.
He added that the police were investigating the incident and seeking accounts from eyewitnesses to establish what happened.
He also assured that the investigation would be thorough and that the suspect would be arraigned on appropriate criminal charges if the available facts established that he was responsible for the attack on the teenager.
Zainab Abdulrasaq ia a reporter and a fact-checker with The ICIR. She believes that accountable citizenship starts with an accountable government, which is why she highlights injustice and everyday struggles through her reporting, one story at a time. She adores reading and can be reached via zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org and @blackbookishgirl on Instagram/Medium
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.