A 43-year-old mother of five children, Mrs Pauline Ogbonna, has narrated how young men from her husband’s community in Ebonyi State stripped her naked at market square and brutalized her a day after she packed out of her husband’s house.
She explained that her husband had been beating and constantly maltreating her for not giving birth to a male child.
Mrs. Ogbonna, who has five female children for her husband, explained that her parents had asked her to leave her husband’s house because of his inability to change his violent behaviour towards her.
A day after she left her matrimonial home alongside her five children, Mrs. Ogbonna, who operates tricycle for a living, was attacked by some youths from her husband’s community after they accused her of stealing a water tank.
In an interview with The Point in Abakaliki after her ordeals, Mrs. Ogbonna alleged that the youths of Amaechara Ngwogwo community, Isiagu, in Ivo Local Government Area of the state brutally shaved her hair, beat her to pulp, poured unknown chemical substance into her private part, paraded and dumped her at their market place naked.
According to her, the attack exposed her to shame, ridicule and severe pain. She denied stealing the water tank as alleged by the youths.
“I am a female tricycle operator who carries goods for people for a living. I carry goods like bags of cement, rods, and all kinds of loads for people. I am from Amaeze by birth but married at Amaechara Ngwogwo community Ishiagu in Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State. I am having an issue with my husband because I don’t have a male child. I have five female children without any boys. Because of that, every day it is one problem or the other. I don’t know if I am the one impregnating myself. So, on the 22nd day of October, 2020, my people decided that I should come back to my father’s house with my children for safety; at least for some time, instead of being beaten everyday with or without any slightest provocation.
“Having returned to my father’s house, I sent my younger brother, Jideofor, to go and bring my GP tank from my husband’s house with the aid of my tricycle. The boy went and mistakenly carried my neighbour’s own. Then, some youths stopped him that night and called me, enquiring if I was the one that sent my brother to carry the GP tank and I answered in affirmation. Then, the youths said I should come and claim my tricycle and the tank the following morning.
“So, on 23rd October, I went to claim my things and there, I noticed that my brother actually carried my neighbour’s tank which he mistook for mine. My own is the long one while the one he carried is the big round one. On noticing what happened, the youths didn’t allow me to make any comment, they said they have been looking for such an opportunity. They started beating me, accusing me of stealing somebody’s GP tank. I kept shouting telling them it was a mistake from my brother that my own is still in the compound, but they were not interested to hear me out.
“Some of these boys that were arrested insisted they didn’t want to hear me utter any word. Police in the area wanted to intervene but they threatened to kill any of them that came around. One Inspector Chioma and others ran for their lives because the youths were too violent and could do anything,” she narrated.
She added, “I am alive today by the miracle of God. They started beating me that day from 7am when I went to carry my Keke and look for daily bread till around 4pm; stripped me naked, paraded me from their community to another community. To further defile me traditionally, they tied four tubers of yam around my neck, shaved my hair, forcefully inserted unknown chemicals in my private parts which have caused and exposed me to all kinds of persistent diseases including piles since then. They finally dumped me naked at the market.”
On how she was saved, the woman said, “Thanks to one of our stakeholders, Hon. Fabian Chukwu who picked my unconscious body and went to the hospital where I spent many months at his expense. Towards the end of 2021 when I was discharged from hospital, I noticed that the youths, after unleashing mayhem on me, also went and ransacked my house. They stole my park 4 Tecno phone worth N52, 000.00 then, the cash I kept in my bag which I planned to use and purchase another tricycle because the one I was driving was getting too old. It was N875, 000.00 but I could not find it. They also robbed me of some of my beautiful unisex clothes. With the nature of my job, I buy and wear unisex clothes but I couldn’t find most of them on my return from the hospital.
“Same month, I went to the National Human Rights Commission seeking redress. They wrote a petition to the Commissioner of Police who ordered that the suspects be arrested for prosecution before a court of competent jurisdiction. In the course of it, my brother that was assisting me financially died in India. It became very difficult for me to meet up with monetary demands from police to go for arrest and ensure prosecution.
After my latest payment, some of the suspects were arrested last week Thursday but were immediately released on Friday on the order of the immediate past Commissioner for Information in the state, Uchenna Orji, because one of the youths is his boy. I learnt he told the CP that the case is political.
“That is why I am looking for justice, I need justice. How can he say that a case of heavy assault and humiliation of that magnitude on me was a political issue? Am I a politician? I need nothing but justice. I can no longer freely walk around the communities because of stigmatization, people call me a criminal. I have stayed in that marriage in that community for 20 good years, nobody has ever complained that I stole from them,” she lamented.
Explaining other possible consequences of her attack and calling on stakeholders to assist her in getting justice, Ogbonna said, “My major problem and fear now is that my five female children may never get married because of that stigma, shame and traditional defilement. I need justice. I plead with the Governor’s wife, Chief (Mrs) Mary-Maudline Nwifuru, Associations of Female Lawyers, Female Lawmakers, Female Journalists, civil society organizations, security agencies and all well-meaning Nigerians to please help me get justice. I have no money to follow up this case in court to a logical conclusion.
“I want those people (suspects) to be taken to court. Let the court look at the matter and decide. My children have been with me since then without any support from my husband because they are all females. The first one got a University admission this year and my husband blacklisted her phone number because she has been calling for assistance. I am still surprised because that day, I was attacked, the youths called my husband and bought drinks for him to make merry. He was drinking without any sign of worry or objection while others unleashed mayhem on me.”
Meanwhile, efforts to reach Orji for comments at press time were not successful.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the State Command, DSP Joshua Ukandu noted that he was not aware of the case and requested time to make enquiries.
