A 40-year-old dismissed policeman yesterday committed suicide after allegedly defiling and infecting a nine years old girl and five others with Human Immune Virus (HIV) in Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area of Bayelsa State.
According to investigation by some members of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), the deceased policeman was dismissed from the Police Force for alleged gross misconduct and detained in Port Harcourt prisons and relocated to Bayelsa State.
Community sources told LEADERSHIP yesterday that the incident, which has caused anger among the indigenes of Kolokuma/Opokuma area of the state, led to a search for the man but he escaped to Trofani community in Sagbama local government area, where he reportedly committed suicide.
The source, which pleaded anonymity, revealed that the victims infected, numbering six, include the female lover, who had reportedly moved to Delta State after her test proved she is HIV positive.
According to the source, “investigation showed that the man escaped from Port Harcourt prisons sometimes last year and embarked on defilement spree. Over Five underage kids were reportedly defiled and infected with HIV. “
“The nine-year-old girl, names withheld, was defiled recently. The victim told her mother about the act but the mother refused to hear her. But when the girl could not walk properly and was sickly, the mother took her for laboratory test and discovered she had been defiled and is HIV positive.
“We call on the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Health and the FIDA to come to the aid of the victims. They need treatment,” the source said.
Contacted on the development, the spokesman of the Bayelsa Police Command, Asinim Butswat, said the incident “has not been officially reported to the command. “
Leadership
