A middle-aged man and pastor, Louis Akpojotor Mevoweoyo, from Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State but residing in Ibiono Ibom, Akwa Ibom State, is in police custody to answer questions for allegedly defiling his daughter.
The long arm of the law caught up with him after it was revealed that he had been sexually assaulting his daughter since she was 12 years old.
The latest incident was said to have occurred in December last year when he had carnal knowledge of his daughter, whose name is being withheld.
The pastor was among the various suspects paraded by the Akwa Ibom State Police Command for various crimes, including cultism, illegal possession of firearms and child theft, as well as suspected armed robbery.
Also, one Daniel Effiong Umoh, a.k.a. Akaka ‘m’, aged 32, of Abak Itenghe, Abak Local Government Area, has been arrested for defiling a girl (name withheld).
The suspect, armed with a machete, attacked and dragged the victim into the bush, where he forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of her.
Investigations by the police revealed a history of sexual assault by the suspect on other teenage girls.
The command’s spokeswoman, DSP Timfon John, said while parading the suspects that they would have their day in court at any of the investigations.
On child trafficking, she said operatives of the Command, acting on credible intelligence, arrested one Roseline Dennis ‘f’ and one Sunday Udo Ekong ‘m’, both of Ikwen village in Obot Akara LGA, on 14th January 2025.
“The suspects abducted two children (names withheld), aged 4 and 2 years, both pupils of St. Joseph Catholic School, Ikot Ofon Ikono.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects planned to transport the victims to Umuahia, Abia State, to sell them.
“Thankfully, the victims were rescued and reunited with their families. The suspects will face prosecution.
In a related development, she said another set of suspected child traffickers from Abia state by name Okwondu Nkpurunna ‘f’, one Vivian Izima Chamdin ‘f’, one Okozie Amarachi ‘f’, and one Christina Emmanuel Onyechi ‘f’ were caught trafficking two children (names withheld), aged 11 and 12 years, from Ikot Edibom Village, Nsit Ubium LGA, and Mkpatak Village, Essien Udim LGA, respectively.
According to her, the victims were rescued unhurt in Abia State and would soon be reunited with their families while the suspects would be charged to court.
While noting that mob actions are illegal and would not be condoned, the command urged residents to report suspicious activities and trust the police to handle such matters professionally.
“The police are not magicians; incidents must be reported before they can attend to them. Let me reassure all law-abiding citizens that the Police in the State, under the watchful eyes of CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi, are here to protect you and serve you better. “