Police investigation revealed that the suspects raped the survivor (name withheld) on different occasions which made her contract a sexually transmitted disease as well as develop serious virginal injuries.
The police in Imo State, south-east Nigeria, say they have arrested three men who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl in the state.
The police spokesperson in the state, Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, identified the suspects as Joseph Onyema, 35, Uzoma Nwanoreze, 30, and Eberechukwu Nwosu, 43.
The police spokesperson said the three suspects were arrested after "painstaking and diligent investigations" into the incident.
He did not, however, indicate when the incident and the arrest happened.
How it happened
Mr Okoye said police investigation revealed that the suspects raped the survivor (name withheld) on different occasions which made her contract a sexually transmitted disease as well as develop serious virginal injuries.
The police spokesperson did not, however, indicate the disease contracted by the survivor.
He said the survivor, who is also a minor, was currently "receiving intense medical care" at an undisclosed hospital in the state.
The suspects will be arraigned upon completion of an investigation, he said.
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The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, has condemned the act and described it as "barbaric," Mr Okoye said.
Mr Danjuma urged residents of the state to support the police in the onslaught against suspected rapists and other criminals in the state.
Prohibited in Nigeria
Nigeria, in 2015, enacted the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, which outlawed all forms of violence against women and girls, including rape, female circumcision and forceful ejection.
Offenders, on conviction, face life imprisonment or a maximum of 14-year jail term, depending on the age of the offender and the type of violence committed.
Several persons have been convicted by various courts for rape.
An Ado-Ekiti High Court, in July 2022, sentenced a 49-year-old man, Dele Adeyanju, to four years imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl.
A Bauchi High Court, in 2017, sentenced two middle-aged men to life in prison for raping a 40-year-old woman and plucking her eyes.
