How police truncated investigations of my daughter’s rape case ― Mother of deceased
NSUKKA — The mother of the 21-year-old girl, Charity Ngozi Eze, who was allegedly raped and murdered at Imufu, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, March last year has cried out for justice over alleged shoddy investigations by Nigerian Police Force on the matter.
Vanguard reports that the late Ngozi who was living with her parents at Abuja but relocated to her village in Imufu to enable her attend extramural classes for last year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME was allegedly raped and murdered by suspected assailants.
The mother, identified as Juliet Eze, while narrating her ugly experiences shortly after the internment of her daughter on Friday said she was pained when she saw some of the suspects walking scot-free and still challenging the family even before her daughter was buried.
Mrs Eze who was a petty trader at Abuja before her daughter’s untimely death said that it has been difficult providing for the family because she now resides in the village with her family with no means of livelihood, adding that she hardly slept since her daughter’s untimely death.
She said ” Three suspects were arrested in connection with my daughter’s rape and eventual murder. However, when they were released by the police, neither me, my husband nor the community stakeholders were aware.
“I heard their release from police custody as a rumour until I met one of the suspects the day I was going to the market to buy foodstuff for the family. That day, my heart was broken. They were even threatening that we cannot do anything to them. Police did shoddy investigations, maybe because we could not afford to pay them owing to our poor financial standing.
“I want the suspects to be rearrested and killed just as they killed my daughter. I want the government to follow up this case and secure justice for my dead child.
“I was selling ‘okpa’ at Abuja before this incident happened last year. Since then I have been in the village. Feeding is even a problem for my family now because my husband is equally poor. We have been working hard to feed our children and give them the best possible education we can afford and I had hoped on Ngozi because she worked hard and had told me she wanted to study nursing at the university. I have not been sleeping since my daughter’s life was snuffed out in her prime. Sometimes, I will wake up by 1 am, sit up and cry in the middle of the night.”
Comrade Emeka Mamah, who also spoke on behalf of the family said police had named a suspect who the victim turned down his marriage proposals.
