A school teacher, identified as Samuel John Ikpeme, has been arrested by the Nigeria Police for sodomising a 9-year-old boy in Calabar, Cross River State capital.
According to report, Ikpeme has been allegedly having anal sex with the boy (name withheld) for over a year.
The victim is a pupil in the school the suspect teaches, situated along Parliamentary Road, in Calabar Municipality local government area.
Sources within his school disclosed that the victim started the school in April 2018, when his parents moved into Akai Efa, and few weeks after, the suspect started sodomising him.
The matter lingered until a Child Rights Activist and the Principal Counsel of Basic Rights Council Initiative (BRCI), Barr. James Ibor came to the rescue of the minor.
Ibor, while addressing newsmen said that the suspect had threatened to kill the victim if he mentioned the act to his parents or anyone.
Ibor said, “The boy’s anus has been badly lacerated because his innerwear was also heavily covered with bloodstains coming out from his anus.
“He has been taken to the hospital for further examination to determine the degree of damage as both semen and bloodstains were seen on his underwear.
“I want to call on parents and guardians alike to always, as a matter of necessity, take a deeper look at their kids and wards, especially as it concerns their reaction and behaviour in and out of school.
“Parents must understand resentment and reaction by their kids about or towards any teacher, as well as anyone around them.”
“The boy has concealed the dastardly act from his parents for over a year because the teacher threatened to kill him if he ever tells anyone but this is a call for us to closely monitor our kids,” Ibor stated.
The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO in Cross River State, DSP Irene Ugbo, when contacted confirmed the report, adding that the suspect, Mr. Ikpeme was now cooling off in the police custody.
“We have arrested a teacher from a primary school in Calabar for sodomising a 9-year-old boy and he is currently being interrogated at the Area Command.
“Although he is denying, there are hard evidence proving otherwise, and the matter will be transfer to state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation so that he can be charged to court. It is a sad development. Parents must watch their children closely to spot changes in behaviour and other things,” Ugbo warned.
