A 44-year-old man named Paul Edu has been taken into custody by the Akwa Ibom State Police Command on charges of raping a National Youth Service Corps participant.
At a press briefing on Tuesday at the command’s headquarters in Ikot Akpan-Abia, Uyo Akwa Ibom State, State Commissioner of Police CP Waheed Ayilara revealed this information.
He stated that the suspect, who is the son of a landlord who serves in the NYSC, was taken into custody on Saturday, July 20, 2024, at approximately 3:15 p.m. in Ukana Iba village, Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state, after he had ordered her to come to his house, where he knew her intimately.
“On 20/7/2024 at about 3:15 pm, a National Youth Service Corps member living in Ukana Iba village in Essien Udim reported that at about 3:00 am, one Paul Samuel Edu, 44 years old, (her landlord’s son) came knocking at her door,” he said.
That when she opened the door, the aforementioned Paul brandished a machete at her and told her to follow him to his room so they could talk, failing which he would hurt her. “When they got to the suspect’s room, he bolted the door, tore her clothes, and had carnal knowledge without her consent.”One machete and one slaughter knife were found on the suspect after he was taken into custody.Investigations are still being conducted.
The CP also disclosed additional breakthroughs that the command had documented during the period under review, such as the recovery of firearms and the apprehension of a possible kidnapper, as well as the arrest of suspects for vandalism, an armed robbery syndicate, and suspects in child trafficking.
According to him, the command also discovered an armory in a private mortuary in Ekeya, in the state’s Okobo local government area. He went on to say that after receiving information about the arrest of a kidnapping syndicate, command agents stormed the mortuary.
The Commissioner claimed that a syndicate headed by a wanted kidnapper named Ubong Effiong Archibong, popularly known as “Condiment,” was in charge of kidnapping and murdering multiple people in the state.
“Operatives of the Command through credible information and a painstaking investigation recovered firearms and ammunition used by a notorious kidnapping syndicate led by a wanted kidnapper, one Ubong Effiong Archibong, a.k.a Condiment.
“The kidnapping syndicate is responsible for the kidnapping and killing of several persons. The said firearms were recovered at a private mortuary being used as the armoury at Ekeya, Okobo L.G.A.
“The firearms are Two (2) AK-47 Rifles, Two (2) G3 Rifles, One (1) Double Barrel Rifle, One (1) Single Barrel Rifle, Five (5) Magazines and Seven (7) Live Ammunition.”
