A former member of Cross River State House of Assembly, Patrick Uguge, has been arrested by the Police, over allegation of sexually assaulting his wife’s niece.
The suspect, who represented Ogoja State Constituency between 2007 to 2015, allegedly committed the crime at a hotel in Ogoja on April 21, 2023.
State Commissioner of Police, Balarabe Sule, confirmed the arrest and detention of the former lawmaker.
The victim, a 19-year-old girl, is said to be a resident in the suspect’s wife’s house.
A Human Rights Lawyer, James Ibor of Basic Right Council Initiative, BRCI, which initially took up the girl’s case, decried the alarming rate of rape in the state.
Barr. Ibor said; “The suspect alleged that the man raped her in a hotel at Ogoja. When the girl came to us, we had to verify and confirm her story. We put up a petition to the Police, which later took the suspect into custody.
“Rape is a felony, and the rate of sexual abuse is now alarming. So we need to protect the female gender from predators. We are in touch with the girl’s parents, who have confirmed that the victim was still a virgin before the suspect raped her,” Ibor said