Magistrate orders arrest of colonel over alleged rape of 16-year-old girl

A Kaduna Chief Magistrates' Court 13, on Wednesday ordered the arrest of an Army officer, Lt. Col. Azinge Williams, over the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl. The order was issued following the failure

of the accused to appear before the court, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The court had on November 25 ordered that the accused be duly served, and according to the court's registrar the summon was served through the Commandant of the Nigeria Defence Academy.
The commandant, however, in a letter to the court, returned the summon, claiming that the accused had been transferred to Benin.
Counsel to the complainant, Mr. Dyagas Ezekeil, decried the manner in which the Nigerian Army was handling the issue, urging the court to compel it to trace the accused and serve him properly.
The lawyer also prayed the court to issue a bench warrant against the colonel "so that he can face the law."
Williams was accused of raping the girl on October 22 in Kaduna after luring her to his house on the pretext of sending her on an errand.
The offence contravened Sections 272, 282, 285, 327 and 397 of the Penal Code.
Senior Magistrate Sa'adatu Sambo issued a bench warrant against the accused and said the order should be served through the Chief of Army Staff and the Commandant of the NDA.
Sambo adjourned the case till December 5, for continuation of hearing. (NAN)