70-yr-old man remanded in prison for raping 15-yr-old girl to death in Enugu

By Iheanyi Chukwudi

A Magistrate Court sitting in Enugu has remanded a 70-year-old man, Anthony Mgbe, of Umuagu, Inyi, Oji-River Local Government of the state, in prison for allegedly raping and murdering a 15-year-old deaf and dumb girl.

Mgbe who was arrested and transferred to the State CID Enugu on September 27, 2023 for thorough investigation, was docked on a two-count charge brought against him by the Commissioner of Police.

One of the charge reads “unlawful carnal knowledge of a minor, an offence contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of criminal Code, Cap. 30, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004."

The second said,“Unlawful killing by having unlawful carnal knowledge of the minor which caused her to bleed to death, an offence punishable under Section 274(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol. II, Revised Law of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.”

Meanwhile, Women Aid Collective (WACOL) who petitioned the CP that led to the arrest of Mgbe, on it's official social media handle said considering the severity of the offence, the magistrate court denied the application for bail and adjourned the case till November 22, 2023.

WACOL said the case was first reported to them by concerned members of the community, who disclosed that “the man was in the habit of perpetrating violence against women/girls, but always managed to evade justice owing to the influence of his children, who silenced the victims.

In the light of this, the family of the deceased sought protection from WACOL and legal intervention to ensure that the perpetrator faced the full wrath of the law.

“Following a petition sent by the WACOL legal team to the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr Mgbe was arrested and charged to court."

When the incident happened and there were allegations that the accused was trying to bribe his way to stop police from continuing the matter, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe (DSP) issued a statement correcting the impression.

He said, "Inyi Police Division of the Command on 19/09/2023 at about 4.32pm, received a complaint alleging that one Okpara Anthony 'm' of Umuagu-Inyi in Oji-River LGA, on 13/09/2023 raped a female deaf and dumb, one Uchechukwu Onwuzuru aged 14. That she was thereafter taken to the hospital for medical attention, but died on 15/09/2023 at about 6pm, and her corpse deposited in the mortuary."

"However, after fruitless efforts, the suspect, who gave his name as Anthony Mgbe aged 64, was eventually arrested and has today, 27/09/2023, been transferred to the State CID Enugu for thorough investigation. Further development shall be communicated please."