In Niger State, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has apprehended a group of four individuals accused of engaging in genital mutilation, gang raping minors, and other criminal activities in Pandogari town of Rafi local government area.
The state Commandant of the Corps, Mr Joachim Okafor, revealed the arrest came about through effective intelligence gathering by the Divisional Command.
The state Corps commandant emphasized that the arrests align with the Corps’ mission to safeguard critical national assets, promote safe school initiatives, and protect lives and property in the state.
Those apprehended include Aliyu Amiru, 20 years old, Suleiman Abubakar Gambo, 19 years old, and Yusuf Malam Murtala, 22 years old, all residents of Pandogari town.
Deputy Commandant DCC Abdulhameed Kabara, speaking on behalf of Okafor, explained that the syndicate gang-raped a 13-year-old JSS 1 student from Day Secondary School, Pandogari, after administering a substance to drug her.
On the 2nd of May, 2024, the School Principal alerted Corps operatives about the syndicate’s activities, leading to the arrest of one member of the gang by strategizing with the victim as bait.
The victim recounted to the officers that in 2022, Aliyu Amiru and his associates kidnapped her and took her to an unfinished building outskirts of the town, where she was gang-raped.
During her captivity, she witnessed a horrific incident where a toddler had his genitalia mutilated by the gang, with the intention of using it in a protective charm against various weapons.
The case has been passed on to the Intelligence and Investigation Unit of the state command headquarters for meticulous review before prosecution in court.