By James Eze
The police in Ebonyi State, South-east Nigeria, have arrested two men for allegedly stripping two teenage girls and flogging them over an allegation of theft.
The police vowed to prosecute the suspects to serve as a deterrent to others.
In a viral video, the two teenagers, accused of stealing fowls, were stripped, beaten and forced to walk naked around the community with the fowls they allegedly stole.
Premium Times learnt that the incident happened in November 2023 in Ojiegbe community, but the video surfaced on social media this week, triggering public outrage. Many Nigerians called on security agencies to investigate the girls’ inhumane treatment and prosecute those involved.
“Share it until it gets to the government authorities. These girls were subjected to inhumane treatment. Criminal cases have legal punishment stipulated in the criminal code.
“Anyone caught in this situation should be handed over to the police. This treatment is too much for those small underage girls,” says the overlay text on the video.
The state’s police spokesperson, Joshua Ukandu, in a statement, said two suspects, Dennis Ali and Ituma Sunday, have been arrested in connection with the dehumanising treatment of the girls.
Ukandu, who described the video as “disturbing”, said the arrest is in line with their promise to eradicate trial by ordeal, jungle justice, and self-help in criminal justice.
He assured that those involved in the girls’ treatment would “face the full force of the law for their heinous actions”.
