A 48-year-old man, Emmanuel George, has been apprehended by the Rivers State Police Command for allegedly defiling a 12-year-old girl in Port Harcourt.
The incident occurred on September 6, 2025, at around 7:30 pm, when the victim was sent by her aunt to buy fried potatoes along the street.
According to a statement by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the suspect, George, dragged the victim into a stationary tricycle, popularly known as Keke Napep, tied her hands, and covered her mouth before forcefully having carnal knowledge of her.
Iringe-Koko also said the victim was later taken to the Police Hospital in Port Harcourt for medical treatment and examination.
She explained: “On the 6th of September, 2025, at about 1930hrs, operatives of the Rivers State Police Command attached to the CP Strike Force, Port Harcourt, received a distress call reporting that a 12-year-old girl (name withheld) who came to spend the holiday with her aunt at Mini Orlu, off Ada-George Road, Port Harcourt, had been defiled.
“The victim, who had been sent by her aunt to buy some fried potatoes along the street not too far from the house, was unfortunately attacked by one Emmanuel George ‘m’, aged 48 years, a native of Akwa Ibom State but resident at Close 6, Rumu-Evolu Road, off Ada-George Road, Port Harcourt.
“The suspect dragged the victim into a stationary tricycle, popularly called Keke Napep, tied her hands, covered her mouth to prevent her from raising an alarm, and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her before fleeing the scene.”
Iringe-Koko noted that police swiftly responded to the distress call and arrested the suspect about two hours after the incident through coordinated intelligence. During interrogation, George voluntarily confessed to the crime.
She added that a bundle of rope suspected to have been used in tying the victim’s hands, one wrap of fufu
and a blue tricycle (Keke Napep).
The suspect and exhibits are currently in police custody while discreet investigations are ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, has reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to ensuring that perpetrators of crime face the full wrath of the law.
The commissioner urged parents and guardians to keep a close watch over their children and report any suspicious activities to the nearest police station or security agencies.
