An Asaba High Court Tuesday sentenced a member of a six man gang that specialized in raping girls, Chukwu Ebuka Sunday to 35 years in jail for gang raping a 17 years old girl.
The court sentenced the accused to a jail term of 35 years without an option of fine after being found guilty of raping the 17 years old Secondary School girl ( name withheld) with 5 others now at large. An offence committed on the 23rd day of November, 2012 at Akwuebulu, within the Asaba judicial division, Asaba.
“On the 23rd day of November, 2012 at about 1100hrs, my mother sent me on an errand to the market to buy food stuffs for her. On my way to the market along Arthur Richard Street, Akwuebulu, one boy called Ebuka saw me and seized me by my skirt and dragged me into their compound and locked the gate. As soon as he locked the gate, he brought out a cutlass and threatened to cut me with it. He then used the cutlass to hit me on my stomach and also hit himself severally with the cutlass and started boasting that he was a strong man and a cultist. Thereafter, he pushed me into his room and forcefully removed my underwear and raped me. After raping me, he called his friends on phone and five other boys came and also raped me in turns. They poured alcoholic gin drink on my face, broke raw eggs on my head and beat me up even as I was crying and pleading for them to leave me. They also asked me to pay them the sum of N15, 000 or else they will kill me and my parents” the raped victim recounted in court while giving evidence.
The accused in his defense, denied the three count charge of conspiracy to commit rape, rape and demanding with menace.
The court while delivering its verdict held that prosecution was able to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt as it established essential ingredients of the offence against the accused adding that he believed the evidence of the PW1 as a witness of truth and disbelieved the evidence of the accused. “The evidence of PW1 was straight forward and to the point as she gave her evidence without any form of malice and with a disposition of forgiveness” The court held.
While handing down the 35 years jail verdict on the accused, the court held that it would serve as deterrent to others as the rising cases of rape in society was alarming.”He was sentenced to 3 years for count one, 30 years for count two and two years for count three which are to run concurrently.
