Akunne

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The doctor, Ken Uzoma Akunne, who is now in police custody, is said to have been arraigned three times for child trafficking and defiling teenage girls. He was also accused of selling off the babies he fathered.

The medical doctor, who operates under different names and aliases, such as Chike and Uzoma, had had several brushes with the law before his last arrest.

His latest brush with the law occurred in December, 2009 when policemen, acting on a tip-off, raided his social welfare home located in his residence at 6, Nawfia Street, Independence Layout, Enugu. During the raid, the police rescued five pregnant girls whose ages ranged from 12 to 18 years.

Police sources said it all started when a young girl climbed the fence that separated Akunne's home and a hotel in a bid to escape from the home. Joyce Solomon, 12, had been confined and allegedly raped by Akunne in a bid to get her pregnant. Desperate and determined to escape from Akunne's gulag, however, the poor girl, who hails from Kogi State, jumped the fence and raised the alarm that roused the whole neighbourhood and caused them to invite the police.

The Public Relations Officer of the Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amarizu, who confirmed the arrest explained that Akunne had confessed to sleeping with the girls and selling their babies.

Joyce told Saturday Punch that it was her friend that introduced her to the accused after her mother chased her out of their home over a minor offence. While Akunne initially denied assaulting Joyce, he claimed loss of memory when he was pressed further.

Ijeoma Idogo, 18, who lives in Emene, a surburb of Enugu, said she came to the doctor with a pregnancy. According to her, Akunne promised to pay her some money in exchange for the baby. "He injected me and I went into labour. When I woke up, my pregnancy had disappeared and the doctor told me that the baby died. He didn't give me any money," she explained.

Pregnant 16-year-old Elizabeth Ani, from Oduma, Aninri Local Government Area, Enugu State claimed that she was lured into Akunne's social welfare home with the promise of a job, but she was then held hostage and prevented from leaving. She stated that the doctor impregnated her and promised to give her N50,000 upon giving birth to the baby. "He threatened to kill me if I refused to cooperate," she added.

Both Blessing Onoja, 19, who hails from Benue State, and Chinyere Osei, 15, from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, alleged that the accused injected them with substances that made it difficult for them to resist his love advances. They said their GSM telephones were taken away and the stored numbers deleted, apparently to prevent them from contacting their relations for help. They complained of poor nutrition and care.

Akunne, a knight of the Anglican Church in Enugu, denied all the allegations, insisting that the girls were brought to him by their relations.

But his defence may do little to help him, having been arrested and arraigned for the same offence in the past. His wife, Chinyere, could not be ascertained as she could not be reached for comments. Children are said to include a medical doctor, a lawyer and an accountant.

The accused used to run Uzoma Maternity Clinic along Zik Avenue, Enugu before the place was shut by the men of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps on June 9, 2008 during a raid. About 25 girls aged between 16 and 25 in various stages of pregnancy were said to have been rescued during the 2008 raid. The bubble had burst when a woman carrying a baby was arrested and interrogated at a motor park in Enugu where she confessed to have bought the baby from Akunne's clinic for N350,000.

In 2006, the medical doctor was also arrested for detaining three children under the age of 12 with an intent to steal them, and also for detaining one Lilian Ejimofor with the intent to rape her. Akunne was arraigned on a 4-count charge before an Enugu South Magistrate Court, where he was granted bail. It was while he was on bail that nemesis caught up with him with the raid on his clinic.

In 2004, he was arraigned along with two others before an Enugu High Court on a 4-count charge of illegally detaining one Ebere Nwafor (19) against her will and of "having carnal knowledge of her without her consent." The accused was granted bail and the case adjourned indefinitely for the state Attorney General's opinion, which never came.

The National Agency for

Prohibition of Trafficking in

Persons, which arraigned Akunne before the Federal High Court, Enugu on a 20-count charge of child trafficking, procuring underage girls for sexual slavery and selling off a two-day-old baby in 2008, seems to have given up as the suit has stagnated and the matter adjourned indefinitely.

While enjoying bail, he was again caught for the same offence and NAPTIP again dragged him before the court. He was arraigned on 21-count charge at the Federal High Court, Enugu last week.

A senior NAPTIP official blamed the judiciary for allowing the case against Akunne to drag, saying the prosecutor had presented its witnesses and rounded up its case, and it was left for the judge to deliver judgment.

Though, the accused risks spending the rest of his life behind the bars if convicted, because three of the charges carry life sentences, expectations by the public that Akunne may meet his waterloo has since ebbed.

Many suspect official connivance and government's cover up of Akunne's activities. A director at the Enugu State Ministry of Social Welfare and Gender Affairs, however, denied this. He said the state government had two pending cases against Akunne. The official who can not be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, described as illegal the social home which the doctor was using for his activities.

"Uzoma's social home is illegal. We have two cases against him in court. We asked NAPTIP to take charge of the current case and I can assure you that he will not escape this time around," the civil servant said.

Commenting on the matter, a former Chairman of the Enugu State branch of the Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Ken Agwuna, stated that the union could not move against the accused or intervene in the matter because he was not a recognised member of the association in the state. He said it was only the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council that could take disciplinary action against him.

Agwuna, a radiologist, said such actions would include the withdrawal of the licence with which he practices as a physician.

While decrying the unprofessional activities of some doctors, Agwuna observed that there was need for monitoring and supervision of medical practitioners.

The NMDC, however, said it could not take any action against Akunne until it got a petition concerning his activities.

An official of the council, who declined to speak officially, said he was not aware of the case against Akunne, adding that his office could not take any measure against the accused until it had a letter from either the NMA or a member of the public.