Operatives from the Aba Central Police Station on Thursday rescued one Chukwuebuka JohnPaul from being lynched by a mob in Aba, Abia, after he was allegedly caught raping a 15-year-old girl.
The Abia Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the rescue and arrest in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.
Ogbonna said the suspect is already in Police custody as of the time of filling this report and that investigations are going on to unravel more facts about the case.
A Police source who refused to be named said JohnPaul is 25 years old and a second-year Political Science student of the Imo State University, Owerri.
He said the suspect resides at Christ Church Road, World Bank Housing Estate, Abayi, Aba, from where he went to commit the crime at Alozie St., Aba, about 1 pm, on Thursday.
The source said that he was almost lynched at Alozie St where policemen rescued him.
He said that Johnpaul lured the victim with a receptionist job advertisement on a board placed by the roadside close to an unoccupied building.
He said the job advert attracted the 15-year-old girl who just finished her Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and was on a job hunt to support herself, her Widowed Mother and siblings.
The source further said that when the victim reached the venue, the suspect who was standing bye told her that he was the boss of the organization and told her to follow him upstairs for an interview.
According to the source, the victim followed the suspect upstairs without any form of suspicion.
He said that as soon as both of them reached one apartment upstairs, the suspect who is very huge naturally, grabbed the victim, wrestled her to the floor, tore her pant and raped her.
He said that the victim’s attempts to raise alarm and alert some boys downstairs failed as the suspect covered her mouth, threatened to kill her with a wooden plank if she dared to shout.
The source said that after allegedly raping the victim, JohnPaul tried escaping but the victim raised alarm and people downstairs rounded him up.
He said that JohnPaul was then grabbed by angry residents who beat him mercilessly and were about lynching him when men of the Aba Central Police Station rescued him.
He said that the victim who is seriously traumatized is currently hospitalized at Police Clinic, Aba Area Command.
The Police source further said that JohnPaul had confessed to the crime while investigations are ongoing to unravel more facts about the matter.
