A Lokoja Chief Magistrates’ Court on Thursday ordered the remand of four youths at the Federal Prisons, Ankpa, Kogi for allegedly gang-raping a female secondary school student (names withheld).
The accused persons, Bala Musa, Uchenna Chiaghanam, Faruk Umar and Suleiman Abdullahi, were charged with criminal conspiracy, criminal force, theft and rape.
The accused were said to have raped, recorded and posted the pictures of the act on the internet.
The police prosecutor, Mr C.S. Ayabotu, said the offence which was committed on Feb. 10, was reported by the victim at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Ankpa on Feb. 14.
Ayabotu said the girl was returning from errand for her mother when Musa, Chiaghanam and Umar criminally conspired, accosted and dragged her into a nearby bush.
He told the court that the accused persons whose ages ranged from 18 to 21, seized her Nokia 200 Asha cell phone, beat and slapped her with a ring suspected to be diabolically charmed after which she fell and became unconscious.
The prosecutor said the accused jointly and forcefully had sex with her one after the other and recorded the sex scenes.
Ayabotu said they posted the video on the internet with the assistance of the fourth accused, Abdullahi.
He said that investigation into the case was ongoing and applied for adjournment to enable the police to complete the investigation.
According to the prosecutor, the offences contravene sections 97, 265, 287 and 282 of the Penal Code.
In his ruling, Alhassan Hussaini ordered that the accused be remanded in prison at Ankpa as the offences do not ordinarily attract bail and to enable the police to complete investigations.
Hussaini, however, transferred the case to Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ankpa and adjourned the case to March 14 for further mention.

Leadership.