Mrs Anthonia Ugwu, who was molested and stripped naked by some youth in Agunese, Afam-Mmaku Agwu Local Government Area of the Enugu State has while crying out over the way she was molested said she did nothing wrong.

According to the 44 years old woman who is curently on the hospital bed at St. Ann Hospital Awgu, she never picked snails from any sacred site.

Mrs Ugwu, a mother of four and widow for 13 years said she lost her husband in 2009 and had been struggling to take care of herself.

She alleged that while making effort to take care of her children, she was unfortunately violated; both her rights to dignity of human persons, right to privacy, rights to physical integrity, and bodily integrity were all violated over what she knew nothing about.

Mrs Ugwu who spoke in pain when the Women Aid Collective (WACOL), led by its Founder, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, visited her in a hospital said she harvests and sells snails as part of a living and on that day she was violated, she harvested and sold snails to her usual customer at home.

“ I was still home when I heard a noise outside and in one swoop youths invaded my home, dragged me out, without any opportunity to defend myself and they started beating me with weapons, clubs including iron rod.

“They stripped me naked, tied-fresh palm fronds around my waist and neck (which symbolized complete debasement, worthlessness, total suppression, taboo and shame in Igboland).

“But one of my relations who intervene to rescue me was also beaten and stabbed,” Mrs Ugwu said.

She said it was later that she observed that her snail customer was in their mist and subsequently learned that the woman while on motorbike out of the community was accosted, her bag searched and the result of quizzing the woman led the youths to her home and the outcome is her current predicament.

Mrs Ugwu maintained that she did not harvest snails from any forbidden forest, and has been in the snail business for a long time from the community. She is, however, abreast with the traditions and culture and could not have and did not harvest snails in the forbidden forest.

Mrs Ugwu who appreciated WACOL and its team for the visit gave names of the perpetrators including Sunday Nwangene, Jonathan Nwangene, Obi Nwangene, Chigazu Okpala, Okechukwu Okeke, Chukwudi Anikene, Chukwuebuka Agu, Maduabuchi and the father, and a girl who took the video {name not known}

Reacting to the incident, Prof. Ezeilo who went on a fact-finding mission/survivors support visit said the violation of the widows’ rights was beyond harmful cultural practice.

She said “This solidarity visit was not just on behalf of WACOL, Southeast Human Rights Situation Room but, also on behalf of the Action Aid Nigeria, Nigerian Women and women across the globe that have expressed condemnation against this degrading inhuman treatment meted out to Mrs Anthonia Ugwu (not real name), under the guise of preserving culture.”

She said “Mrs Ugwu was debased, dehumanized, tortured and her nakedness exposed to her children and the entire world. WACOL is dismayed by the silence of the traditional Ruler of the community, HRH Igwe, Cyprian Nevo Obasi popularly known as (Ogilishi).

“We are disappointed that up until now, the traditional ruler of the community is yet to make a statement or visit the victim/survivor in question,” she added.

Prof Ezeilo emphasized that the act of the youth is physical violence and the worst form of degrading treatment to strip her naked by children, some much younger than her son.

Prof Ezeilo said “As we speak the entire family is traumatized, she is traumatized, her son that saw her in that dehumanizing state is also traumatized, locked himself physically in a room for days and psychologically since he has refused to talk to anybody or attend school because of the shame and fear of stigmatization. They all need immediate help to regain their self-esteem. The woman is still in distress, she needs comprehensive medical help.

WACOL has undertaken to move her from her current hospital which does not have adequate equipment to provide the requisite medicare and support she needs considering the grave physical assault and battery suffered, she continued to hold her head indicating she needs a comprehensive medical examination, especially an MRI to establish she does not have internal injuries not visible to the human eyes.

“Though her siblings were at the hospital to support her because they are quite disturbed, she is quite very demoralized because she knows that her nakedness is in the public domain across the globe.

Prof Ezeilo encouraged the victim/survivor and assured her that she and WACOL will do everything possible for her to obtain justice.

According to Prof Ezeilo, she will link stakeholders, the governor, the Inspector General of Police and all the good, spirited Nigerians to the case.

She also promised to cater for her hospital bills, and relocate her to a secure and safe place to access medicare and counselling.

Prof. Ezeilo thereafter advanced her finances to help with her medical bills and general upkeep.

WACOL call on the government of Enugu State to immediately intervene to ensure a complete eradication of these harmful practices which continues to enable violence against women in the communities, especially in light of the existing Enugu State Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law (YEAR) which WACOL was at the centre of its domestication.

“As a hub for advancing Human/Women Rights, we demand activation, implementation and accountability of the VAPP Law; and just as the woman expressed, she wants justice, which will lighten the burden of shame meted out on her and contribute to expunge her pains.

“We are calling on all the women in Agunese Affam Mmaku community to immediately rally around this woman, whose ordeal is a manifest representation of the reality of the woman in our social relationship between men and women is governed by patriarchy,” she said

Prof Ezeilo said “On the part of WACOL, we will ensure that justice is done, people cannot be allowed to take laws into their own hands, we live in a civilized society, we cannot encourage jungle justice.

“We believe in rule of law and if she contravened any customary laws of the community, they should have appropriate channels for reporting, and decently penalized her; besides there is no known customary criminal law under which a person could be persecuted in this manner or enabling others to commit crimes in the name of enforcing a custom. So, we want justice for her.

“We would want this matter to receive the urgent attention that it deserved. This is one violence too many, and we cannot keep quiet about it. We call on the government and the traditional ruler to take urgent steps to eradicate this obnoxious custom,” she said

Prof. Ezeilo reiterated that it is important to note that a case of women’s human rights abuse have been reported in WACOL from this same community a while ago.

According to her, there was an earlier complaint from a highly educated woman in the community who was made to pass through some heinous and obnoxious practices in the community. It is right therefore to assert that a lot of impunity is going on in this community, and government should look into it, and if they are not satisfied with the way the affairs of the community are being conducted, they should take action, and take over by bringing a new leadership.

“It is gratifying to know that seven suspects have been arrested, and the case transferred to the Enugu State CID for further investigation. On behalf of women, we fight for, WACOL calls for justice, we will stand by the victim in solidarity, and we will ensure that she gets the justice that she deserved,” she said.

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