Residents of Oruworokwo community in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have handed a 32-year-old suspected homosexual to the Olu Obasanjo Police Station for allegedly raping a 14-year-old boy.
The suspect was said to have been caught on Wednesday and handed over to the police the same day after a civil society organisation insisted that the suspected be handed over for questioning.
It was gathered that the suspect had lured the teenager to a dark location, where he raped him before he was caught.
The suspect, who was identified as Chidi Asuzu, was first interrogated by the community before he was eventually handed to the police.
The Chairman of the Civil Rights Council, Rivers State Chapter, Prince Wiro, praised the community for toeing the path of justice in the matter.
He said, “The youths of Oruworokwo community apprehended the suspect on Wednesday, while he was allegedly having carnal knowledge of the 14-year-old boy at a dark corner in the community.
“The suspect was handed over to the community chief to look into the matter but the organisation insisted the matter should be investigated by the police rather than being handled by the community.”
It was learnt that the mother of the victim, simply identified as Emmabong, wept uncontrollably over the incident and demanded that justice prevails in the matter.
Our correspondent also gathered that the teenager was asked to write a statement about the incident at the station.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the incident, saying the matter had been moved from the Olu Obasanjo Police Station to the State Criminal Investigation Department.
“I am aware of the incident. The matter was initially investigated by Olu Obasanjo Police Station but now transferred to the state CID. The suspect is currently at the state CID and an investigation is ongoing,” he said.