Police arrest man for raping corps member in A’Ibom ay

Paul Edu, 44, has been taken into custody by the Akwa Ibom State Police Command on charges of sexually assaulting a National Youth Service Corps participant in the state.

At the command's headquarters in Ikot Akpan-Abia, Uyo Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday, State Commissioner of Police CP Waheed Ayilara revealed this to reporters.

He added that on Saturday, July 20, 2024, at around 3:15 p.m., in Ukana Iba village, Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state, the suspect—a son of the landlord to a NYSC member—was taken into custody after directing her to his residence, where he had intimate knowledge of her.

According to him, on July 20, 2024, at approximately 3:15 p.m., a National Youth Service Corps participant living in Ukana Iba village in Essien Udim said that at approximately three in the morning, Paul Samuel Edu, 44, her landlord's son, knocked on her door.

"That after opening the door, the aforementioned Paul threatened to hurt her and brandished her with a machete, telling her to follow him to his room so they could have a conversation.

When he got to the suspect's room, he broke down the door, tore her clothes, and had sex with her without getting her permission. After the suspect was taken into custody, a slaughter knife and a machete were found on him. The inquiry is still on.

The CP also disclosed further achievements that the command had documented during the period under review, such as the recovery of firearms and the apprehension of a possible kidnapper, as well as the arrest of suspects for vandalism, an armed robbery syndicate, and suspects in child trafficking.
According to him, the command also discovered an armoury in a private mortuary in Ekeya, in the state's Okobo local government area. He went on to say that after getting information about the arrest of a kidnapping syndicate, command agents raided the mortuary.

The Commissioner claimed that a syndicate headed by a wanted kidnapper named Ubong Effiong Archibong, popularly known as "Condiment," was in charge of kidnapping and murdering multiple people in the state.

Through reliable information and a thorough investigation, the Command's operators retrieved weapons and ammunition used by a well-known kidnapping ring headed by one wanted kidnapper, Ubong Effiong Archibong, also known as Condiment.

Numerous people have been abducted and killed by the kidnapping syndicate. The aforementioned weapons were found at a private mortuary that served as Ekeya, Okobo L.G.A.'s armoury.
"There are five magazines, seven live rounds, two AK-47 rifles, two G3 rifles, one double barrel rifle, and one single barrel rifle among the firearms."