Two Arrested For Stripping Teenage Girls Over Alleged Fowl Theft

The Police in Ebonyi State have arrested two men for allegedly stripping two teenage girls and flogging them on an allegation of theft. The police vowed to prosecute the suspects to serve as a deterrent to others against taking the laws into their own hands. The teenage girls in a video, which has since gone viral, were stripped naked and made to undergo various dehumanizing treatments over allegations of stealing fowl. They were flogged and forced to parade the community naked with the fowls they allegedly stole.

The incident happened in Ojiegbe, Ngbo community in Ohaukwu local government area of the state. The incident was gathered in November 2023, but the video started circulating during the week. Its circulation drew wide condemnation from the public, who described the treatment meted out to the two girls as dehumanizing. They called on security agencies to investigate the incident and prosecute all those involved in the inhuman treatment of the teenage girls.

“Share it until it gets to the government authorities. These girls were subjected to inhuman treatment.  Criminal cases have legal punishment stipulated in the criminal code. “Anyone caught in this situation should be handed over to the police; this treatment is too much for those small underage girls,” a resident said in the video. On receipt of the complaints, the Police in Ebonyi swung into action and arrested. Dennis Ali and Ituma Sunday, in connection to the incident.

Police spokesperson Joshua Ukandu, in a statement, said the duo was the primary suspect in the dehumanizing treatment of the girls. “The Ebonyi State Police Command has arrested Dennis Ali and Ituma Sunday, the primary suspects in a disturbing viral video where two teenage girls were stripped, flogged, and dehumanised.  “The incident occurred in November 2023 at Ojiegbe Ngbo community in Ohaukwu LGA”, he said. The spokesperson noted that the arrest is in keeping with the promise by the new Commissioner of Police, Anthonia Uche-Anya, to eradicate trial by ordeal, jungle justice, and self-help in criminal justice.“She reaffirms the command’s commitment to rooting out such practices in Ebonyi State with stakeholder support,” he said.

Source: The Nation