From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
A Chief Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State presided over by F. N. Amanze in Port Harcourt, yesterday, remanded Mr. Wigoh Enuolara, father of a 12-year-old rape victim for allegedly collecting N800,000 from the suspect, Collins Azunna.
When the case was mentioned after the suspect was arraigned, the defence lawyer, Edwin Woka, informed the court that the father of the child had collected N800,000 from the family of the suspect.
Woka said that the suspect, who is 39 years old, was only charged to court because he refused to be extorted further by the father of the victim.
Lawyer holding brief for the complainant, E.B Igwe, holding watching brief for the nominal complainant (Wigoh Enuolara) told the court his client did not agree to settlement, but the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) at Eleme Police Division pressured his client.
Father of the girl, Wigoh Enuolara claimed that the Investigating Police Officer who was simply identified as Rita at Eleme Police Division deceived him to collect the N800,000 at the Police Station, when he told her that his daugther had serious health challenge as a result of the rape and he used the money to save the life of his daugther.
Chief Magistrate Amanze after going through the case files of the accused and nominal complainant at Eleme Police Division and State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), noted that there was a document showing that the father of the victim collected money and wrote withdrawal at Eleme Police Division.
The Chief Magistrate ordered the accused Azunna and the father of the girl to be remanded at Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned to January 13, 2022.
The accused and the father of the girl are expected to be arraigned on the adjournment date.