Juliana Francis and Cajenta Mmuta
Outrage has greeted a video being circulated on
social media, where a lady was stripped by a group of men for allegedly
stealing a phone and chucks of pepper later poured into her private parts by
the men as punishment.
The horrific video, which started circulating on
Monday, has, understandably caused an outraged among Nigerians.
The three minutes video, showed the girl being
brutally stripped by two men, while she screamed and begged.
One of the
men pushed her down to the ground, while another hurried came on the scene,
clutching bunch of pepper. On sighting the pepper, the lady got up and tried to
run, but was ruthlessly pushed down to ground.
She was wrestled to the ground by one of the men,
wearing a camouflage shirt on blue jeans.
The man grabbed her two legs and dragged them wide
apart, while another threw the pepper into her private parts. The hurled pepper
fell short of hitting her private part, thus the man in camouflage, picked the
pepper, crushed it inside her private and ruthlessly pushed it further into her
privates. She screamed and cried, but the men refused to release her.
Even as she was shouting in pains and crying, the
men hurled questions on her like missiles: “Where is the phone? Where did you
keep it.”
She cried: “ I didn’t take any phone. Jesus! I
didn’t take any phone. Jesus, I’m dead. I’m dead.”
As the pepper began to take effect, she jumps from
one place to another, while the men keep hurling questions at her. When she
continued to cry and fan her private parts with her hand, one of them
threatened to bring another bunch of pepper, causing another shriek of fear
from her.
It has been discovered that the incident happened in
Benin City, Edo State. This was even as League of Patriotic Lawyers gave the
Edo State Commissioner of Police, Olusegun Odumosu, 24 hours to unmask those
behind the barbaric act.
Chairman of the League, Mr Abubakar Yesufu also
urged the Department of State Service (DSS) to be involved in the
investigation.
The Force Public Relations Officer (FPPRO), Frank
Mba, said that investigation into the incident had already commenced, adding: “
But we need more information from members of the public.”
On different social media platforms, Nigerians who
took out time to comment on the incident, raged against the men, stressing that
the lady should have been handed over to the nearest police station, not
dehumanized.
The Report Women Network Group (ReWon) has also condemned the action of the
men. In a statement made available to our media house, ReWon said: “ ReWon, as a
group, which believes in women being treated fairly at all levels; find this
video repulsive and disturbing. These
men, who took on the role of judge and jury, should have taken the lady to the
nearest police station, rather than dehumanized her in such a manner. ReWon
therefore urges the relevant authorities, especially the Nigeria Police to do
everything within the ambit of the law to arrest these men and bring them to
book.”
It was also gathered that the identity of the victim
had been known and that she’s presently at an undisclosed hospital, receiving
treatment.
This is not the first time women had been
dehumanized using pepper.
In 2015, Ajoke Agomo and two daughters were tortured
with pepper for allegedly stealing pepper at the Oba Morufu International Market
in Ejigbo, Lagos on February 11, 2013.
Ten persons, nine men and a woman were arrested for
the crime. The three women were beaten up, stripped and pepper rubbed over
their bodies by the suspects who are members of the Oodua Peoples Congress
(OPC).
The suspected rubbed pepper mixed with hot on their
faces and private parts. The punishers then used canes to flog them. They were
subjected to hours of torture and the incident videotaped by one of the
suspects.
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