A policeman attached to Police Mobile Force 22, Augustine Gbuchenge (Force number 400823) is on the run after being caught in the process of abducting his neighbours daughter, an 8 year old girl, Amarachi.
Narrating the story, the victim’s father. Patrick said,
“Last Thursday, I returned from work around 7.30pm and met my children and wife outside. There was power failure on that day so everywhere was dark. I asked after Amarachi but my wife said she was probably in our apartment sleeping.
I was not satisfied with this explanation because my children don’t usually sleep early.
When I went up, I did not see my daughter so we started asking around. Some little children in the compound then told me that Gbuchenge had called my daughter earlier to help him buy akara.
I went to the policeman’s room to challenge him but he denied seeing my daughter so we continued looking everywhere. After sometime, the whole compound got involved in the search and all clues pointed to the policeman.”
The father said after he and other neighbours challenged Augustine again, he threatened to report them to his colleagues at the Ketu police station for false accusation.
“Some moments later, I also stood up and headed for the police station to go and report the matter thinking I would meet the policeman there as well but I did not. After reporting the matter, a police corporal accompanied me back to my house,” Patrick said.
They got to the house and did not see the policeman whose room was also locked.
“We were able to beam a torchlight through his window where we saw my daughter’s legs pointing out from under the bed,” Patrick said.
The neighbours rallied round and broke the door to Augustine’s apartment and rescued the girl who had sustained injuries including a broken skull. She had been tied up and a piece of cloth had been put in her mouth.
Narrating her ordeal, Amarachi said:
“On that day, he (Gbuchenge) asked me to buy akara for him. After I returned, my mum asked me to go upstairs to do the dishes. As I was going, the man pulled me from behind and took me into his room.
He then tied me up. He did not rape me. After sometime, my parents started shouting my name and calling me, the policeman used an iron to hit me in the head repeatedly and then pushed me under the bed and used clothes to cover me. Under the bed, I saw little children’s clothes.
He then turned on his generator so that even if I tried to shout, no one would hear. After sometime, he left. I continued to hear my father’s voice and I struggled to push my leg from under the bed. That was how they saw me and rescued me.”
A neighbour said, “The man (Gbuchenge) has been living in this compound for over three years. He is married with children but his family lives in Alapere, Ketu. He has two buses but on the day of the incident, he did not bring his vehicles home, it seems he had planned to escape on that day.
“We believe he wanted to use the girl for ritual. What were little children’s clothes doing under the bed?”
Police authorities are trying to identify if the suspect is indeed one of theirs.