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Arinze Obiwenite has been detained for allegedly defiling his 12-year-old daughter.

Obiwente was detained during a raid at his residence in Abacha community, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State after receiving a tip from a whistleblower. He was also accused of utilizing demonic methods to conduct a “healing” ministry.

The 12-year-old girl and her siblings were reportedly rescued during a raid on the accused’s home under the direction of the state commissioner for women and social welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo.

It was learned that the suspect had kept his children imprisoned in the room for five years and was allegedly having sex with the 12-year-old while fingering the smaller children.

These were revealed to journalists in a statement on Saturday by the commissioner’s media assistant, Miss Chidinma Ikeanyionwu.

She claims that before beginning the trip, the commissioner first made a courtesy call to the Igwe Nwabunwanne Odiegwu, Traditional Ruler of the Abacha community, to inform him of the commissioner’s intentions.

She said, “It was during the visit to the monarch that it was revealed that the suspect had been parading himself as a Christian who gives solutions to people seeking for answers without knowing that he has other motives up his sleeves.

“The traditional ruler explained that the community got to know of the suspect’s escapades when he accused some young boys in the community of raping the daughter.

“The suspect was summoned to the palace on several occasions but failed to honour the royal invitation which made the youths of the community troop out en masse to his residence and on getting to his house, they discovered that he locked up his children including the 12-year-old.

“When questioned, the daughter revealed that the father locked them up in the room for five years and that he always had carnal knowledge of her while he fingers the younger ones.

“Upon interrogation, the suspect stated that he is married to 11 wives, but does not live with any of them at the moment.”

The community’s traditional leader, Chief Paul Omofia, spoke about the situation and revealed that after learning of the man’s illegal activities, the youths had planned to take the law into their own hands by having him burned alive. However, the monarch intervened and stopped them.

Omofia added that the occurrence took place a short time after their Ofala holiday, during which they pleaded with the local deities to reveal any evildoers in the neighborhood.

The commissioner promised to uphold justice and to provide the kids with a supportive environment where they could develop and receive the treatment they needed after assessing the kids.

The suspect, when questioned, was reported to have categorically denied all charges brought against him but begged the monarch to pardon him and assist in settling the matter amicably—a request the monarch openly rejected.

Some items allegedly found at the suspect’s home included a long list of paper on which he jotted down the names of people he had killed and planned to kill, a hollow grave in his backyard where, according to the suspect, he stays when necessary to perform incantations, and some herbal remedies that he claimed were also diabolical.

Additionally, he was made to break the oath that had been made to his three wives and him during the course of their weddings.

The suspect was detained by the police, who then took him to the state criminal investigating division in Awka, according to the statement.

He was charged on March 23 and arraigned before the Children, Sexual, and Gender Based Violence Magistrate court in Awka. He was then remanded in custody and taken to the Correctional Center Amawbia, while the daughter was taken to an unidentified hospital for a checkup and potential treatment.

Friday night, the Court of Appeal in Abuja rejected an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party that sought to have Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Kashim Shettima, who was Tinubu’s running mate, disqualified from the election on February 25.

The PDP failed to prove that it had locus standi to bring the action, according to a unanimous ruling from a three-member panel led by Justice James Abundaga.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the PDP asked the appellate court to overturn the January 13 judgment rendered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed its suit on the grounds that the PDP lacked locus standi to have instituted the suit. The appeal was filed under the case number CA/ABJ/CV/108/2023.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC, Tinubu, and Shettima were respondents in the appeal, with the PDP serving as the appellant.

The Tinubu/Shettima ticket for the 2023 presidential election was contested by the PDP in the lawsuit that was filed on July 28, 2022.

It claimed that Shettima received two nominations and that this violated Sections 29(1), 33, 35, and 84(1)(2) of the Electoral Act of 2022 (as amended) by nominating her as the running mate.

It stated that Shettima had neither resigned or withdrew his nomination as a candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial election at the time he was nominated as a vice presidential candidate.

Shettima’s candidacy as a vice presidential candidate and as a senatorial contender for Borno Central, according to the party, was illegal.

It also asked the court to issue an order directing INEC to strike their names from the list of candidates it had nominated or supported and who were qualified to run for office.

The defendants requested that the case be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in their preliminary objection to the court.

They said that the plaintiff lacked locus standi to bring the lawsuit, which always contested the APC’s choice of candidates for the election and decision, both of which fell under the purview of the party’s internal matters and were therefore outside the purview of the court’s jurisdiction.

In the lead opinion, Justice Abundaga characterised the PDP as a busy entity that dabbled in APC internal affairs. Justice Abundaga concurred with the arguments made by respondents’ attorneys, notably Thomas Ojo of Lateef Fagbemi and Co.

The trial court’s determination that the PDP had failed to prove its locus standi was correct, according to Justice Abundaga.

He then went on to support the FHC’s decision by stating, “The appellant, having failed to disclose its locus standi, this appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.”

The judge also fined J. O. Olotu, the appellant’s attorney, N5 million in costs.