Delta Court Jails Driver 35 Years For Rape‎

Jethro Ibileke/Asaba

An Asaba High Court has sentenced one Chukwu Ebuka Sunday, to 35 years in jail for gang-raping a 17-year old girl.

The convict who was part of a six-man gang that specializes in raping girls, was sentenced without an option of fine, after being found guilty of raping their victim, a secondary school girl (name withheld), with 5 others now at large.

He was sentenced to 3 years for count one, 30 years for count two and two years for count three which are to‎ run concurrently.

The offence was committed on 23 November, 2012, at Akwuebulu, within the Asaba judicial division.

Recounting her experience in the hands of the rapists, the victim said: “On the 23rd day of November, 2012 at about 1100hrs, my mother sent me on an errand to the market to buy food stuffs for her. On my way to the market along Arthur Richard Street, Akwuebulu, one boy called Ebuka saw me and seized me by my skirt and dragged me into their compound and locked the gate.

“As soon as he locked the gate, he brought out a cutlass and threatened to cut me with it. He then used the cutlass to hit me on my stomach and also hit himself severally with the cutlass and started boasting that he was a strong man and a cultist.

“Thereafter, he pushed me into his room and forcefully removed my underwear and raped me. After raping me, he called his friends on phone and five other boys came and also raped me in turn.

“They poured alcoholic gin drink on my face, broke raw eggs on my head and beat me up even as I was crying and pleading for them to leave me. They also asked me to pay them the sum of N15, 000 or else they will kill me and my parents,” she recounted in court while giving evidence.

The accused in his defense, denied the three count charge of‎ conspiracy to commit rape, rape and demanding with menace.
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The court in its verdict, held that prosecution proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt as it established essential ingredients of the offence against the accused.

The court added that the evidence of the PW1 as a witness of truth and disbelieved the evidence of the accused.

“The evidence of PW1 was‎ straight forward and to the point as she gave her evidence without any form of malice and with a disposition of forgiveness,” the court held, adding that the 35 years jail verdict would serve as deterrent to others as the rising cases of rape in society was alarming.