A pastor of Mount Zion Light House, Solomon Ufot Ton, has been arrested by operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Command for allegedly abducting and impregnating a teenager, Okpo Eunice Kingsley.
Available information has it that he took the 16-year-old to a quack medicine dealer for abortion, which paralysed her.
The Command’s Commissioner, CP Olatoye Durosinmi, disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday during his fourth quarter briefing at the Command Headquarters in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
Durosinmi said: “Sometime in the year 2021, credible information had it that one Pastor Solomon Ufot Oton, a pastor in charge of Mount Zion Light House, Oruko village in Urueoffiong Oruko LGA abducted one Okpo Eunice Kingsley, 16-year-old female of Asawana Street in Oron LGA and kept her in his residence for three days at the above-mentioned village.
“The suspect threatened and hypnotised her not to disclose his deeds to her parents.
“She stated that the suspect had carnal knowledge of her during the period of the abduction and she became pregnant.
“Later on the suspect took her to a quack patent medicine dealer for abortion, which got her paralysed and was taken to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital for further surgical operation.
“The suspect has confessed to the crime.”
Durosinmi said the Command arrested 562 suspects for various offences in the last quarter of 2023.
He said the operatives of the command arrested the suspects for various crimes ranging from murder to kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and stealing.
According to the CP, a number of the suspects have been charged to court and some of them granted bail, while others are still under investigations.
He listed some of the offences to include pipeline vandalism and economic sabotage by one Godwin Ita Effiong, who conspired with four others to vandalise pipeline belonging to Frontier Oil and stole 18 jerry cans of 25 litres of crude oil on November 18.
The CP added that during the period under review, one Francis Eze and Johnson Amadu allegedly armed with a locally made gun robbed a Point of Sale operator, one Glory Akpan, and made away with her PoS machine, Android phone and N300,000.
Also, operatives of the command on November 21 arrested Samuel Jackson and Favour Friday for allegedly abducting a three-year-old child, daughter of one Effiong Akpan.
He said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects sold the child to a woman in Abia State through a third party, adding that efforts are being intensified to arrest other suspects and rescue the child.
Durosinmi added: “May I on behalf of the officers and men of the Akwa Ibom Command wish you a fruitful New Year ahead.
“For the yuletide, I deployed 1,758 officers and men to effectively provide security during Christmas, and I am happy that we had a peaceful celebration.
“I must say that our security strategies and our collaboration with sister security agencies has led to a more peaceful Akwa Ibom.
“During the last quarter of the year, a total of 562 suspects were arrested for various offences ranging from murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and stealing.”
The CP expressed optimism that with the procurement of 14 gunboats by the Akwa Ibom State Government to the Nigerian Navy, maritime crimes would be reduced to the barest minimum in the state.
Durosinmi warned criminals to have a change of heart or relocate as the state is no longer safe for them.
