The operatives of the Ebonyi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested a 43-year-old man for allegedly defiling an eight-year-old girl in a remote community in Izzi Local Government Area of the state.

The NSCDC Commandant in Ebonyi State, Francis Nnadi, disclosed the arrest at a press conference in Abakaliki, the state capital, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

Nnadi said the man, whose victim was currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Abakaliki, had confessed to the crime.

Nandi said the suspect would be charged to court upon the conclusion of an investigation.

The NSCDC Commandant stated: “Our officers arrested a 43-year-old man, Mr Emmanuel (surname withheld) for defiling an 8-year-old girl.

“The suspect is in our custody; he will be arraigned to court once investigations on the matter are concluded.”

Nnadi said the command’s operatives also arrested three suspects allegedly caught in possession of 60 jerrycans of petrol suspected to have been stolen.

According to him, the suspects have confessed to the crime.

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Nnadi said: “There are some people who are busy engaging in illegal purchase and sales of petrol and you noticed that the price of the commodity has skyrocketed, these hoodlums buy and store this highly inflammable product in residential homes.

“Some vandalise petrol pipelines and some outrightly deal in illegal petrol business without considering the risk to the public.

“How can you store over 60 25-litres of jerrycans loaded with petrol in a residential environment you know how hazardous it is?

“So, we arrested three of the suspects and they will soon be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction at the end of our investigation.”

Nnadi further warned the residents of Ebonyi State to be mindful of people who come to their neighbourhoods in the guise of dealing in scraps or waste iron and aluminium materials.

He said some of them allegedly vandalise public and private-owned infrastructures.

He disclosed that the NSCDC officers also arrested a suspect with a full load of scraps in an articulated vehicle suspected to have been obtained from vandalised bridges and public infrastructure.

The Star