Policeman Dismissed For Raping 14-year-old Girl

A policeman in Ebonyi has been dismissed from service after an orderly room trial, for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl in the state.

This comes after it emerged that the state has recorded 57 human rights abuses, with majority of them being sexual violence.

Okorie Christopher Onyekachi, the state coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), stated this in Abakaliki, the state capital, while speaking with journalists on Tuesday.

He noted that the commission is working round the clock to ensure that the policeman, who is in his 30s, is prosecuted.

He commended the state police command for not shielding the officer.

He lamented that defilement of minors and other sexual violence are on the increase in the state and under-reported.

Okories argued that the only time the cases are reported is when there is an underlining conflict among the families involved.

He said: “One police officer has been sacked after undergoing an orderly room trial and we are also moving for his court trial but he has gone through police orderly room trail; police internal disciplinary action which led to his dismissal. We are now moving for his trial in the court. He was accused of defiling a minor, the child is about 14 years while the policeman is in his early 30s.

“We are grateful to the Commissioner of Police who has been very helpful to us. He understands what humanity is all about. Once a petition from the National Human Rights Commission is sent to him, the following morning, we will get a call that it has been assigned. He usually tells us to deal with him directly, that he doesn’t want the image of the police force to be dented.”