Twenty-year-old Laulo Isa, who raped a 54-year-old woman, has confessed that he committed the act under the influence of alcohol.
He told reporters after he was paraded by the police in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital that the insult the woman gave him when he approached her for sex also contributed to his action.
He said the woman insulted him and that led to a struggle before he overpowered her.
According to The Nation, the herdsman said that he was not in his right senses when he committed the offence, adding that he regretted his action.
He said: “I am Laulo Isa. I am from Nassarawa State. I came to work in Ebonyi State. I was highly drunk and I saw a woman in the night walking along the road. I approached her for sex and she abused me.
“We then abused one another and I pounced on her. She struggled with me to free herself. I was seriously drunk at that time.
“As I was on her, a man who was passing flashed his torchlight at me and I ran away.
“I don’t know whether I was having sex with her, but she was on ground with me. I did not hit her with any object. But it was like I had sex with her for one round. We were both on the ground when a man flashed torchlight at me and I ran away.
“I am not happy with what I did and I want to die. I want to die! I want to die! I have never done this type of thing since God created me. I am begging for forgiveness.”
The herdsman on December 28 raped Mrs. Mary Okereke to death at Ufuezeraku, Ugwulangwu in Ohaozara Local Government.
It was gathered that the victim was returning from the farm when the herdsman accosted her, dragged her into the nearby bush and raped her to death.
Police Commissioner Awotunde Awosola, briefing reporters on the incident, said the suspect would be prosecuted.
He said: “On December 28, at about 8pm, Laulo Isa, a Fulani herdsman aged 20, waylaid 54- year-old Mary Okereke on the Ufuezeraku Ugwulangwu Road in Ohaozara Local Government.
“There was a struggle between the two of them, but he overpowered the woman and had sex with her. Unfortunately, the woman died during the incident.”
Awotunde said the police with the assistance of youths combed the forests and farmlands in the area in search of the suspect.
He said the suspect left some of his belongings on the scene of the incident, which were used to identify him.
“Through the concerted efforts of my DPO at Ohaozara, with the assistance of youths in the community, they began a search for the suspect, who unfortunately left his cap and a pair of slippers in a bid to escape from the scene.
“So, with the assistance of two other Fulani guys, we were able to identify him through that cap and a pair of slippers and he was subsequently arrested. He is now with us and will face the full weight of the law”.
The commissioner said that the remains of the victim had been deposited at the hospital for autopsy.
“I want to take this opportunity to assure Ebonyi people that they should not be afraid because we will provide security for them.”
