Teenager sentenced to police custody for rape in Delta after lawyer’s objection

Advocate and human rights activist Favour Enuji has pleaded with the State Judiciary and the Delta State Chief Judge to free 17-year-old Chiemere Nneji, who was found guilty and is being held at the Agbor state police station.

Nneji was found guilty in a family court in the state sitting at the High Court Agbor on November 29, 2023, and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to reports. The panel was chaired by Justice C.N. Ogadi.

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It was discovered that the girl victim (name withheld) was 13 years old when the adolescent allegedly committed the rape.

Enuji said that Nneji was found guilty of rape and that the court sentenced him to three years in prison.

“The juvenile’s prison term will be served at the Delta State Children Remand Home in Sapele, as per the court’s specific order,” he stated.

But in spite of the family court’s aforementioned order, Master Chiemere Nneji was removed from court and imprisoned at the Nigeria Police Agbor cell among other criminal suspects who had been toughened.

“After finding him liable after two years, the Delta State family court, seated at the High Court Agbor, ordered that Master Chiemere Nneji serve a term of imprisonment for three years.”

Enuji insisted that police officers on duty verified that the minor’s arrest was authorised by court order, despite the fact that Nneji had already served two of the three years.

In addition to being nude and having numerous untreated wounds on his face and legs, Enuji’s investigations revealed that Nneji was also experiencing strange rashes on his skin and that he had developed a fever, which was causing him to tremble and convulse uncontrollably in the police cell.

In the case where a minor will be detained for more than a week in violation of the family court’s decision and Nneji’s rights under the Child Rights Act and the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution, Enuji urged the state Chief Judge, the Delta State Ministry of Women Affairs, the Delta State Ministry of Justice, the Human Rights community, and the general public to intervene.