...Moves Victim To Sexual Assault Referral Center
- The Daily Crucible
The Akwa Ibom state government has hands off investigation of child molestation case pertaining to a - 11-year-old boy alleged to have been sexually abused by his seniors at the Deeper Life High School, Uyo, the state capital.
The state government transferred investigation of the case to the State Police Command, even as it moved the boy to the Sexual Assault Referral Center in the state for further medical investigation.
The office of the Commissioner for Education, Enobong Mbob, which has been treating the sexual abuse allegation on behalf of the state government hands off investigation on advice the of the State's Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
The Attorney General, it was learnt, asked
the state to transfer the case to the police to investigate, since the police were already on it too.
The Commissioner for Information in the state, Ini Ememobong, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday and appealed to the public to be patient “for a thorough investigation to be carried out by the Police and other relevant institutions on the matter.”
Ini assures that the government is committed to unearthing the truth in the sexual abuse allegation, vowing to “prosecute anybody found culpable of any wrongdoing.”
Mr Ememobong also reveals that the victim’s parents and other critical stakeholders gave their consent for the boy to be taken to the referral centre located within Immanuel General Hospital, Eket.
The Daily Crucible gathered that the medical report from a private medical facility, St. Athanasius Hospital, in Uyo, on the victim remain largely silent on whether the boy was sexually abused as alleged or not.
According to Ememobong, aside the police, organisations such as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Trafficking, Mirabelle Center, FIDA Akwa Ibom, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Response Unit of the Ministry of Justice, Akwa Ibom State, were also interested in the case.
The Daily Crucible reported earlier that the Deeper Life High School, on Tuesday, says it has presented to the Investigation Panel, staff and students of the school who were mentioned in connection with the alleged molestation of an 11-year-old schoolboy, Don Davis, at its campus in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The Panel was constituted by the office of the Governor, Akwa Ibom state, Emmanuel Udom, after over the inquiry into the case from the school.
The school, however, assured that justice will not only be served, but would also be manifested seen to have been served when the matter is concluded.
Mrs thelma Malaika, the Education Secretary of Deeper Life High School, disclosed this on Tuesday ostensibly to update the concerned public about the matter because of the "potential impact of the issue."
Mrs Malaika said report of the panel would be made known by state government once investigation was concluded, adding that no attempt would be made to cover up the matter.
According to her, the Police is interested in the case and has invited the school to say all it knows about the molestation.
Expectations from the public that the Akwa Ibom government was going to release a report of their investigation soon were however dashed, given the latest twist to the matter with the revealed transferring of the case to the Police.
This is coming after the Commissioner for Education, Enobong Mbobo, had on Monday said she has submitted the report and that the state government would make a statement about it soon.
The Deeper Life High School also primed the public on Tuesday to be on the lookout for a report of the investigation as was initially expected to be released by the Akwa Ibom State Government but now the people's expectations remained unmet for now.
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