The recent shocking news of a five-man gang that allegedly raped a female undergraduate student in Abia State has generated uncontrollable outrage both at home and abroad. The international community and the human rights groups especially have risen to condemn the barbaric act, challenging the country to uncover the perpetrators or risk sanctions. The social media where the buzz emanated has also been alive with new revelations as the hunt for the 'Five Evil Men', as one blogger called them, is being intensified by angry youths. True, no one who sees the height of senselessness displayed by those fellows in the gory video circulating in the Internet will ever be the same again. It's horrible and terrible. The students, suspected to be cultists, after beating their victim to submission pounced on her in a cruel fashion to have carnal knowledge of her, mocking while she helplessly pleaded to be killed instead of being left to societal ridicule. And her only offence was that she allegedly disrespected one of them.
Many rape incidents may have gone unnoticed because the victims in trying to avoid stigmatisation decided to lick their wounds in silence; but this case appears an exception. Reason? The fellows in this case were very daring. They chose to report themselves and dared the Nigerian government to come after them if it can. They recorded the video and circulated it among their friends (after they blurred their own images), who in a bid to spite the girl further circulated it on the campus until it was uploaded on Youtube, an on-line social media site, from where the world now watch it with disdain. The foreign media have also reported the story. While the situation is certainly appalling, there are very important issues that need to be highlighted.
When the rape was freshly reported, the Abia State Government, in a desperate attempt to exonerate itself from the mess and without conducting adequate investigation, released a press statement that purportedly absolved the Abia State University from the unfortunate incident. The Vice-Chancellor of the university also maintained that none of the participants in the rape was his student. Unfortunately, the President of the students body of the school who was supposed to embody not only leadership but thoroughness and diligence joined his VC to spin the same web of cover-up despite the clues in the video. A student of the university was said to have admitted to a popular blogger (name withheld) that such incidents are not new on the campus and that the boys were actually students of the university. So what is more?
The conundrum was complicated by the pussy-footing and unenthusiastic approach of security agents. The dilemma of the security forces is probably understandable but not excusable. They said they cannot rely on internet gossips and insisted on having the victim report to them. The Commissioner of Police, Abia State, Mr Bala Hassan, was quoted as saying, "We don't investigate rape cases based on what people put on Twitter. When a crime is committed, the DPO must send detectives to investigate the scene of the crime. Up till now, have you seen the victim? Have you seen the scene of the crime? Have you seen the suspects? It is a very dangerous rumour that must be dismissed by all good meaning Abians and Nigerians''. Methinks that the absence of the victim notwithstanding, access to some clues and leads from the video should have been enough to make them swing into action, find the victim whose faces were not blurred, establish the place of the incident and the true identity of those masked faces in the video thereby forestalling the long chain of confusion, distortion and the embarrassment that followed.
Fortunately, the work that was supposed to be done by the Abia State University, the state government and security forces has been done by militant Nigerian youths and volunteers on cyberspace. In a rare show of passion, a blogger placed N200,000 on the heads of these sons of Belial. Another offered to use a software to process the blurred images of the perpetrators. Many vented their spleen on their blog pages in strong comments and curses. Some ladies literally soaked their blogs with tears. In the end, the efforts yielded fruits as the perpetrators have been reportedly identified as students of the institution with their names and pictures released to the public. From the video and the research of some courageous Nigerian youths, the students were identified as Ifeanyi Justin Ogu, Jonah Uche (final year/extra year Accountancy), Zaki and Chisom. The Abia State Governor is now talking tough. The Police have also been jolted by a sudden realisation of their despicable dereliction.
However, one's concern is not just the apprehension of these dare-devils as in the safety and security of the victim if she's still alive. Threats and abduction are likely tools they may use against her. Moreover, the thought of suicide cannot be ruled out. Her face was clear in the video. And over one million people are said to have downloaded and watched the video on Youtube, aside those who have it on their phones through Bluetooth. This lady should be sought out and properly rehabilitated. She's a Nigerian citizen entitled to the fundamental human rights contained in our constitution. I suggest she be flown out of the country. A Nigerian environment may not be conducive for her rehabilitation going by the extent of damage done already.
For those perpetrators, they should be punished for this nefarious act against humanity. They have murdered sleep and don't deserve to rest in peace, dead or alive. The Nigerian Criminal Code Chapter 30 Section 358 stipulates 'life imprisonment with or without caning' as punishment for rape, which should not be relaxed for them, no matter their background. But I fear these evil ones may now be at large for fear of being caught. The current tempestuous wave of anger must have sent jitters down their spines. But they have no hiding place under the sun. The Nigerian security forces have a great work to do to salvage their reputation and prove to the world that they are up to the task to get these bad eggs that have no scintilla of sympathy or dignity. This case should not be treated with kid's gloves.
The police have the Nigerian youths to thank so far. I however wish to admonish our youths not to, as the Bible says, ''Let not your good be evil spoken of''. The rabid quest of many bloggers and Facebook users for the immoral video is most unfortunate. The more the video is circulated, the more the victim's sorrow is aggravated and the more we help these wicked people achieve their satanic purpose of spreading infamy and obscenity. Instead, the pictures and names of these men should be circulated. Besides, if the youth could show this commendable level of solidarity for one of them who was brutally violated, then we can translate the same energy and zeal for the rebuilding of our beloved country, Nigeria. Youths are the future...and that future is here!
Folarin is a National Youth Service Corps member in Ebonyi State. He can be reached on childofdkingdom@gmail.com or 08030572852
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