Shock, outrage, condemnation and stunning surprise have been the reactions since police Corporal Bara’u Garba abducted a 14-year-old girl in Anambra State on October 9th, held her captive for six days during which he was said to have raped her.
The victim has been discharged from the hospital and is now home with her parents while the police officer has been arrested and dismissed from the force, but the long road to recovery and justice has only just begun, at least for the victim.
For days after she was recovered on October 14th, she had trouble sleeping, her uncle, Alh. Lawal Imam told the Daily Trust on Sunday.
“When we first brought her back, she would be sleeping and then she would wake up, shivering,” he said. “But in the last two days she hasn’t done that.”
Her life has been put on hold in the meantime. She has not been to school since the incident.
“We are waiting for things to calm down first and see how she is doing before we send her back,” Alh. Imam said.
The incident in Onitsha had disrupted the rhythm of not only the victim’s family but also that of the alleged rapist, Corporal Bara’u.
What many people do not know is that Bara’u is a family man, a husband of two wives and father of children. He used to be a member of the Mobile Police (MOPOL 7) in Sokoto before this incident cost him his job and his freedom.
His friends in Sokoto seemed to be in shock over the incident saying that they have never noticed such tendencies in him.
He was described by a colleague as jovial, respectable and a hardworking man whose popularity cut across the rank and file of the police, even though he was a junior officer. He had been on Special Assignments before, once to Adamawa and the second time to Jos. And his special assignment in Anambra is not the first time he got involved with a woman during an assignment.
He met his second wife in Jos during an assignment there and eventually married her. But his home hasn’t been a happy one, as Daily Trust on Sunday found out.
The first of his two wives had left his home over a “minor problem” shortly before her husband abducted his victim in faraway Onitsha on October 9th.
“I know him for years and we had carried out special assignment together in Adamawa and Plateau state. He was such a nice fellow, humble and respectable,” One of his colleagues said. “When I heard about this case I couldn’t believe it because I didn’t expect such [an act] from him judging from his qualities that I know. I still believe it was influenced by the devil.”
Whether it was the devil or something else that influenced him, Bara’u, a native of Shinkafi in Zamfara State, would now have to explain to a judge.
Intial attempts by the police in Anambra to sweep the case under the rug have irritated many Nigerians, including the parents of the victim.
“The DPO of Okpoko is the most dangerous person [in the case],” Alh. Imam said over the phone. “He is the worst. He and Corporal Bara’u and some of their other colleagues were trying to play some tricks, acting funny,” he said.
Between October 9 and 14, Bara’u had been reported to have kept the victim in the custody of his fellow policemen during the hours he was on duty only to return and retrieve the girl from them to continue his abuse.
When her family traced her to him, after she had taken his phone and called her father, and lodged a complaint with the police, the DPO of Okpoko, where Bara’u was assigned, tried to cover up for his colleague but public outcry forced the intervention of the police hierarchy.
On Monday, October 30, the Anambra State Police Commissioner, Umar Garba, addressed newsmen in Amawbia to announce that Corporal Bara’u had been arrested, dismissed from the police and would be brought before a court of law before the end of the week.
“The command will ensure that justice would not only be done but seen to have been done. Nobody found guilty would be spared regardless of his position,” he assured.
The suspect had confessed luring the victim to his apartment but denied raping her, the CP told newsmen.
“The command is yet to obtain the medical report from the hospital. But the on-going investigation would detect whether the victim was truly defiled or not,” the police commissioner said.
His intervention has been lauded by the victim’s family and as a result Alh. Imam said he now has full confidence in the police to do right by the victim and her family.
“I paid the medical bills,” Alh. Imam said, “I paid for everything because the DPO of Okpoko was being dodgy. But the Police Commissioner has reimbursed me. He has taken care of everything.
“The police have taken serious actions against Corporal Bara’u Garba and the government has made promises, we have received several phone calls from people in government and a lot of people have showed concern over this incident and we believe things will be right eventually,” he said.
The path to justice is a long one and at the time of this report, the suspect had not yet appeared before a judge, contrary to what the CP promised.
While he waits his day in court, the victim is gradually trying to patch together the pieces of her life that took a dramatic turn since October 9.
