The Ebonyi State Police Command said it has arrested one Dennis Ali and Ituma Sunday, the two primary suspects in a disturbing viral video in which two teenage girls were stripped, flogged, and dehumanised for allegedly stealing chickens.
In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Joshua Ukandu, the Command said the incident occurred in November 2023 at Ojiegbe Ngbo community in Ohaukwu LGA.
He noted that the video went viral at the weekend, more than one year after the incident happened, stressing that the video was forwarded to the State Police Commissioner and other police personnel which led to the arrest of the suspects on Monday. He said that the dehumanized girls are between the ages of 15 and 16 years, noting that they were subjected to inhuman treatment “which is against the law of the land”
“Criminal cases have legal punishment as stipulated in the criminal code; if anyone is caught in such situation, the person should be handed over to the police, this treatment is too much for those small under aged girls,” Ukandu emphasised, quoting the CP. He noted that on assumption of office, Commissioner of Police Anthonia Uche-Anya highlighted “the need to eradicate trial by ordeal, jungle justice, and self-help in criminal justice.”
The CP reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to rooting out such practices in Ebonyi State with stakeholders’ supports. She, however, assured that the culprits “will face the full force of the law for their heinous actions.”
