Former APC's EBSHA (Ebonyi State House Of Assembly) Aspirant Arrested for Raping a 12 year Old in Ebonyi

 The Ebonyi state police command has arrested former House of Assembly aspirant, Kelechi Opoke. Kelechi, a lawyer, aspired to be a member of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly(EBSHA) under the membership of the All Progressive Congress (APC). The lawyer and aspirant was arrested at his residence in Abakaliki, the state's capital on Thursday 7 July, 2022. 

On Wednesday 6 July, 2022, Opoke was accused of raping a 12 year old minor at his residence. Narrating her ordeal, the victim who affirmed that Opoke happened to be the son of the landlady, said the accused committed the heinous crime under the guise of charging his phone. In her words "I collected the phone and went inside to plug it, as soon as I plugged it and turned, he was already standing at my back. I asked him why he entered our room? He told me to shut up my mouth. He used his hands and closed my mouth, squeezed my hands to my back, tore my clothes including my pants and raped me."

The victim also stated that the accused tried to buy her silence with a bottle of RC Coke and a ₦1000 naira note. The victim's mother, Ukamaka Otah also added to her daughter's story by telling reporters this : "I came back from the market yesterday, I saw my daughter seating down on the ground and was crying, I asked her why she was crying. She didn’t talk to me but when I checked well, I saw her clothes torn including her pants, soaked with blood. I asked her whether she fought with someone, but she told me that it was Barr. Kelechi Opoke that raped her” 

Loveth Odah, spokesperson of the state police command affirmed that the politician was currently in custody of the police and would be charged to court immediately after the Eid-Al-Adha holidays.