Police denounce rape cases in Akwa Ibom

POLICE have decried rising cases of sexual attacks in Akwa Ibom State, warning that perpetrators will be arrested and prosecuted.

The Commissioner of Police, Amiengheme Andrew, gave the warning when he received reporters on the platform of Journalists Against Sexual and Gender- Based Violence in Uyo, at the weekend.

According to him, there have been rising cases of rape, incest and defilement in the state.

The CP, represented by the Police Public Relations Officer ( PPRO), SP Odiko Mcdon, said issues of Sexual and Gender- Based Violence ( SGBV) had become a pandemic, appealing to the public to expose perpetrators.

“We need to expose them, the command will go after those criminals because their offences can be revisited at any time, “he said.

Mcdon said a case of sexual assault involving a man who attacked his pregnant girl friend was being investigated by the force.

According to him, the attack led to a stillbirth.

While commending the journalists for highlighting issues of SGBV in the state, he urged parents to monitor the movement of their children.

Earlier, the Coordinator of the group, Mr. Aniefiok Udonquak, sought the support of the police in bringing those behind SGBV to book.

He said a case of a 10- yearold girl defiled by a tricycle operator in 2018 resulting in the girl being deformed had been swept under the carpet.

According to him, police and the ministry of justice have yet to find the case file after the man was arraigned in January 2019.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Itu Local Council, Mr. Etetim Onuk, has called on the Federal Government to resuscitate all ailing industries in the country to create job opportunities.

He made the call on Saturday while conducting members of the Federal Inter- Ministerial Committee on Resuscitation of Paper Mills and those from the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Trade and Investment on a tour of the moribund Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company ( NNMC) in Oku Iboku.