By Ruth Oginyi
University Professor identified as Felix Anyaegbulam has been reportedly arrested by police in Ebonyi state over the alleged defilement of a 13-year-old girl.
The abused girl is said to be the daughter of his security man.
His arrest came after a Gender-Based Violence taskforce team in the state reported the matter to the state Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba over an alleged compromise on the matter.
The accused, a Professor of Geophysics working with Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) Ebonyi State, was said to have been sexually violating the 13-year-old girl (names withheld) who hails from Ezza North local government area of Ebonyi state.
The state Gender-Based Violence (GBV) taskforce team reported the matter to Central Police State(CPS), Abakaliki, and the Lecturer was arrested and immediately released but was re-arrested over the weekend and he is currently under police custody.
The team reported the matter to Aliyu during its visit to his office at the police headquarters, Abakaliki on Friday.
The GBV team is led by its state Coordinator, Bar. Faithvin Nwancho was established by USAID integrated health program in Ebonyi.
Barr. Faithvin decried the immediate release of the suspect at the CPS, and appeal to the Commissioner to ensure justice on the matter.
She further alleged that the Professor had once impregnated another teenager which led to her dropping out of school.
“We have about six cases of abuse which are pending in various divisions of the police force. For instance, there is a Professor at the FUNAI that has been a 13-year-old girl. The girl stays with this man but every blessed day of this girl’s life, this man violates her, he sexually violates her, that is sleeping with her.
“As God may have it, we were told about it and so we moved into action and the girl was rescued. A complaint was made to the police and arrested has been effected and the man to our surprise has been released, not up to an hour of that arrest which took us some logistics that led that happen.
“Our greatest dismay is that the man was quickly released, not that he was quickly released, it’s not the point but when we remembered that the man is not even the first offender, that was how he got another girl pregnant, another child about six years ago.
“The same Professor, it happened in 2017 and the girl was dropped out of school and just six years after that, this other case is coming up on his head, and quickly, he was released without more.
“We don’t know that kind of investigation that has been carried out around that case but the information we got is that the man got home not even up to an hour he was invited to the police station”.
The State Police public relations officer, DSP Loveth Odah confirmed the development that the professor has been re-arrested.
In a WhatsApp message, Loveth said, “the suspect of the alleged case of rape is in Police custody as the CP orders discreet investigation into the matter while awaiting the medical screening/report of the victim”.
