CYRUS Onu, the lawyer to female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member Jennifer Elobor, who was assaulted by local security operatives in Anambra State, has alleged that the attackers threatened to rape and kill her for speaking out during the ordeal.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, August 20, Onu explained that Elobor was severely assaulted after she requested to dress properly.
“We’ve since written a petition to the government of Anambra State demanding that those persons be prosecuted, and we will follow up to also ensure compensatory damages,” he said.
The ICIR reported that videos that surfaced on Tuesday showed armed men in plain clothes storming the corps members’ lodge in Oba community, Anambra State, where they were seen beating and harassing a female corps member.
The state governor’s Special Adviser on Community Security, Ken Emeakayi, on Tuesday confirmed that the men seen in the video were members of Operation ‘Udo Ga-Achi,’ also known as the Agunechemba Vigilante Group. He condemned the assault.
Emeakayi said the operatives involved in the assault had been suspended and were undergoing a final review process.
“They are suspended because when a case has been established against someone, you arrest the person, then hand him over to the police.
“Now, since they were not readily prepared for persecution, which will be carried out by the police, they are now undergoing other disciplinary measures within our system, pending the final evaluation of the matter, whether they are going to court or not going to court as it relates to the victim,” he said.
However, speaking further on the Channels TV programme on Wednesday, Elobor’s lawyer dismissed the Anambra governor’s aide’s remarks as unacceptable, accusing him of falsely claiming that Elobor was uncooperative, which allegedly hindered investigation into the case. “That is not true,” he insisted.
“They were banging the door, and Jennifer was trying to open the door, and they just kicked the door, and it almost hit their face.
“Most of them were masked in mufti with guns, so you can imagine how scared the kids were. They didn’t give any identification. They just said, ‘Come down, come down. You’re all thieves! You’re all ‘Yahoo’ people!’
“When they tried to drag them downstairs, Jennifer was insisting that if they must take them anywhere, they should allow them [corps members] to call their LGI [Local Government Inspector] because the corps members did not know who the operatives were,” the lawyer said.
He added, “That was when they started pouncing on her. They made derogatory comments, asking her who gave her the right as a lady to speak to them anyhow. They started beating her.
“She asked them to allow her to change into something appropriate, and they said, ‘That thing you’re trying to cover, we’ll see it today. We’ll beat you up, we’ll rape you, kill you, and dump you, and nobody can say anything.”
The lawyer further alleged that when the Anambra security operatives arrived at the secretariat, they continued firing shots into the air to intimidate the corps members.
“It was one of the local inspectors who came from the NYSC that told them to allow them to go; that was how they let them go.
“If not for the fact that it came to the public. All of those things they are saying are not true. They are not prepared to prosecute; they are not going to prosecute. And, of course, that is not the only redress our clients are seeking. There must be consequences for bad behaviour, and they [the perpetrators] will pay damages. My clients are seeking compensatory damages, and they will have to pay.”
The ICIR reports that the NYSC condemned the assault as “unacceptable and dehumanising,” in a statement on Wednesday pledging full support for the police investigation to ensure justice.
The institution also stated that it had begun offering psychological support to the victim while reaffirming its commitment to the welfare and safety of corps members.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.