Six suspects identified as Afam Ezenwa, Chijioke Ifeanyi, Collins Obadom, Abuchi Okechukwu, Chima Obiekezie and Sunday Okafor have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 19-year-old girl in Anam, Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State.

According to Punch Newspaper, the suspects, aged 16, 17, 18, 20, and 27, respectively, were said to have carried out the act after ambushing and forcing the victim into a room, where they took turns to defile her.

Narrating her ordeal, the teenager (name withheld), said the incident happened when she visited her maternal home in Oramaetiti and got ambushed by the boys.

She explained that despite her plea, they did not stop while one of them filmed the act.

She also stated that after she was rescued by some neighbours who heard her cry for help, she left for her house.

However, she was reportedly accosted on her way home by another set of boys, who harassed and ordered her to pull down her pants while threatening to kill her.

She revealed that a good Samaritan took her to her parents after the boys fled with her pants.

Her mother said she was the third victim of the hoodlums, adding that they were known for raping girls and collecting their pants for ritual purposes.

She, therefore, urged the state government not to take the case lightly as her daughter’s life was at risk, especially as the pants had not been retrieved.

Confirming the incident to journalists in Awka on Saturday, the state Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, said the suspects had been arrested and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, where they would be charged.

Obinabo noted that the arrest was carried out following a viral video on social media showing the gangrape of the teenager.

She said, “The high rate of crime among delinquents in Anambra is alarming. Parents and guardians should stop sparing the rod, thereby spoiling the child.”