by Wilfred Okiche

The Minister of Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has condemned the gang rape action of five men on an Abia State University undergraduate. The Minister in a statement signed by his special adviser on media maters, Julius Ogunro, Mallam Abdulhahi calls for the appropriate authority to step in to arrest the rapists while promising rehabilitation for the victim.

Abdullahi also, through his verified Twitter handle, @bolajiabdullahi, revealed that he is pressure the appropriate authorities to bring the culprit to book. “Just spoke with the Hon. Minister of Police Affairs, who is now speaking with the IG on the ABSU gang rape case,” his tweet reads.

Last night, the Nigerian blogsphere was jolted with the disturbing news of a female undergraduate of the Abia State University who went through the most dehumanizing form of torture possible for a woman. According to reports, the young lady was cornered in a dark room sometime in August this year and was slapped around and harassed by five young men, presumably students of the same University, two of whom she apparently identified. The young men took turn in raping her, threatening to kill her even as her cries for mercy fell on deaf ears.

While they were having their way with her, they made a video recording of the whole incident and proceeded to send the recording to their friends. The video clip was then passed on till it came to the attention of some people in the media.

Multiple calls placed to friends and other students who might know the victim were unanswered.

A medical expert, a senior resident Doctor at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi who pleaded anonymity condemned the unspeakable act and highlighted some of the medical issues involved.

According to him the young lady must be going through unspeakable physical and emotional torture. “When something like this happens, there’s no limit of complications that can arise and they run the gamut of physical, psychological and emotional problems.” He continues, “immediate problems could be trauma to the genital tract from forced penetration, exhaustion, depressing, suicidal thoughts and even an unwanted pregnancy which she is ill equipped to handle.”

He highlighted transmission of sexually transmitted infections, tendency to find the sexual act revolting in future and even secondary infertility as possible long term outcomes. He advocated the victim should “not be afraid to get help from friends and family as it is the most crucial form of therapy she might need now.”

Oluwapelumi