Men of the Cross River State Police Command have arrested a former local government chairman of Calabar Municipal Council and erstwhile Commissioner for Information, Edet Asim, for allegedly defiling a 15-year-old girl for about three years.
Asim purportedly coerced the victim into aborting two pregnancies that resulted from his relationship with the teenager.
It was also alleged that the relationship was with the teenager’s mother’s consent.
The girl’s uterus, it was gathered, got damaged while carrying out a third abortion earlier this year.
Mother of the teenager, Stella, who was also said to be Asim’s mistress, had also been arrested.
Sources said Stella, a widow, was married to a Calabar-based pastor. They had two children before his death and he was reportedly Asim’s close friend.
Shortly after the pastor died, Stella allegedly went into relationship with Asim.
A source said, “The victim’s mother, a caterer, owns apartments in Uyo and Calabar, where the girl stays and attends Federal Government Girls College, Calabar. She warned her daughter against exposing the relationship.
“After the third abortion, which was carried out by a quack, her womb became perforated and her teacher exposed the sordid issue by sharing the story on WhatsApp.”
Our correspondent learnt that through the circulation of the WhatsApp message, a human rights activist and founder of Project Alert, Mrs Josephine Chukwuma, knew about the incident and contacted the Basic Rights Council Initiative founded by a child rights activist, Mr James Ibor.
The police were brought into the matter and this led to the arrest of Asim and Stella.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident and the arrest of the suspects, adding that investigation was ongoing.
Asim purportedly coerced the victim into aborting two pregnancies that resulted from his relationship with the teenager.
It was also alleged that the relationship was with the teenager’s mother’s consent.
The girl’s uterus, it was gathered, got damaged while carrying out a third abortion earlier this year.
Mother of the teenager, Stella, who was also said to be Asim’s mistress, had also been arrested.
Sources said Stella, a widow, was married to a Calabar-based pastor. They had two children before his death and he was reportedly Asim’s close friend.
Shortly after the pastor died, Stella allegedly went into relationship with Asim.
A source said, “The victim’s mother, a caterer, owns apartments in Uyo and Calabar, where the girl stays and attends Federal Government Girls College, Calabar. She warned her daughter against exposing the relationship.
“After the third abortion, which was carried out by a quack, her womb became perforated and her teacher exposed the sordid issue by sharing the story on WhatsApp.”
Our correspondent learnt that through the circulation of the WhatsApp message, a human rights activist and founder of Project Alert, Mrs Josephine Chukwuma, knew about the incident and contacted the Basic Rights Council Initiative founded by a child rights activist, Mr James Ibor.
The police were brought into the matter and this led to the arrest of Asim and Stella.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident and the arrest of the suspects, adding that investigation was ongoing.
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