A 19-year-old girl was reportedly gang-raped by six people in Anam, a community in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State.
This was made known on Saturday in a statement by the media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra State, Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, adding that the six suspects are between the ages of 16 and 27 years old.
It was learnt that one of the suspects filmed the rape of the victim while it lasted.
The statement did not indicate when the incident happened.
Meanwhile, Ms Ikeanyionwu disclosed that the commissioner, Ify Obinabo, has arrested the suspects and subsequently handed them over to the police in the state.
She gave the names of the arrested suspects as Afam Ezenwa, Chijioke Ifeanyi, Collins Obadom, Abuchi Okechukwu, Chima Obiekezie and Sunday Okafor.
The case, she said in the statement has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department of Police for investigation and prosecution.
According to Ikeanyionwu, the commissioner’s intervention in the matter followed a video clip which surfaced online showing the victim being raped by the suspects.
The victim, name withheld, told Mrs Obinabo that the suspects ambushed her along the road and dragged her to a room where they took turns to rape her.
She said despite her pleas, the suspects continued to rape her without stopping while one of them filmed the act.
The victim who could not hold her tears, recalled that she was initially rescued by some neighbours who heard her shouting for help. But while she headed home, some suspects accosted and attacked her.
She said the suspects, forced her to undress before raping her again amidst threats to kill her if she resisted.
A passerby, who saw her helpless along the road, would later take her to her family house.
Mrs Obinabo, who spoke to the parents with the parents, lamented the rising rate of crime carried out against women and girls in the state.
The commissioner, however, urged parents and guardians to desist from “spoiling” their children by failing to train them properly.
She said the Anambra State Government, under the administration of Governor Charles Soludo, has zero tolerance for crime in the state, assuring that the ministry would ensure that the arrested suspects were brought to justice.
The parents of the victim, whose identities were not disclosed, said the 19-year-old was the third victim to be raped by the suspects, adding that the suspects were notorious for raping young girls and collecting their pants which usually resulted in the death of their victims after a period of time.
The victims’ parents begged government to ensure the suspects were prosecuted, noting that their daughter’s life was now at risk.
Nigeria, in 2015, enacted the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, which outlawed all forms of violence against women and girls, including rape and female circumcision.
Offenders, on conviction, face life imprisonment or maximum of 14-year jail term, depending on the age of the offender and type of violence committed.
