The Cross River Police Command has reportedly arrested a former House of Assembly member, Hon. Patrick Uguge, for allegedly raping his wife’s 19-year-old niece.
Human rights lawyer, James Ibor of Basic Right Council Initiative (BRCI), who confirmed the development in Calabar, said the suspect was taken into police custody for investigation on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
According to Ibor, the suspect committed the crime at a hotel in Ogoja on April 21, 2023.
“A young girl, 19-years old, walked into our office, and alleged that her daddy, (because she calls the man her daddy, having lived with him for about three years now). She (the victim) is a niece to the man’s wife known as Right Honourable Patrick Uguge. Uguge was a two-term House of Assembly member who represented Ogoja state constituency between 2007 to 2015,” he said.
“The suspect alleged that on the 21st day of April, 2023, 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, and they commenced investigation and took custody of the man.
“Rape is a felony and the rate if sexual abuse is 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 suspect was still a virgin before she was raped,” Barrister Ibor added.
