Daily Trust

CRIME 68 drug trafficker­s Widow raped, killed convicted in Benue, on Abuja farm 96 arrested in Osun

- From Hope Abah, Makurdi & Abdul-Hameed Oyegbade, Osogbo By Adam Umar

The National Drug Law Enforcemen­t Agency (NDLEA) in Benue State has secured the conviction of 68 persons for drug traffickin­g related issues in the state.

The state commander, Florence Ezeonye, stated this in her address to mark this year’s United Nations Internatio­nal Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Traffickin­g.

She said the command, within the past one year, arrested 178 suspects from different locations in the state, comprising of 164 males and 14 females out of which 68 suspects were convicted with five pending cases in court.

Similarly, the Osun State Commander of the NDLEA, Mrs Sylvia EkaeteEgwu­nwoke, said the command arrested 96 drug trafficker­s between January and June this year.

Ekaete-Egwunwoke disclosed this while speaking with journalist­s in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on the commemorat­ion of the United Nations Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Traffickin­g.

She explained that the suspects, who included 81 males and 15 females, were facing prosecutio­n.

She noted that 23 suspects have so far been convicted to various jail terms by the Federal High Court, Osogbo.

Awidow with six children was found dead on her farm at Tungan-Dallatu village in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

Her corpse was found on the farm Tuesday.

The deceased, Rakiya Ibrahim, was said to have left home around 4.00p.m. on that fateful day to work on her farm but failed to return home.

Our reporter learnt that her relatives went to the farm to search for her only to find her dead body with her eyes and mouth filled with sand.

An in-law of the deceased, who is the ward head of the area, Malam Adamu Danladi, informed our reporter that an examinatio­n conducted on her body by some women revealed that the victim might have been raped by her assailant before or after killing her.

Danladi said the matter was reported at the Zuba police division, from where policemen were drafted to assist in evacuating the body.

He said her body was laid to rest the following morning.

When contacted, the Zuba Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ayobami Surajudeen, a Chief Superinten­dent, confirmed the incident, saying investigat­ion was ongoing.

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