ABSU rape victim's husband seeks justice, victim (wife) now HIV positive

Tragedy struck the sleepy town of Obite, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State on a Sunday afternoon, a two month old pregnant woman was raped by a gang of four men after being lured into a house by relatives of her husband. The husband, Mr Stanley Sunday (not his real name) has been offshore for some time found out of the rape after being shown the viral video of the rape by his colleagues, he could not believe his eyes as he could identify with the lady’s voice and face as his wife’s own as he watched the video.
Upon rushing home, he confronted the victim, his wife which she denied for reprisal of attack on her life, his life and those of our family members. The conspiracy thickens after he lost his son to the deadly disease HIV/AIDS which the wife and son contacted from the rape orchestrated by some people in the community, including a member of his extended family.


When reports of the rape first surfaced on the internet in August 2011, it was said to have occurred at the Abia State University (ABSU). The rapists were thought to be students of ABSU. Governor Theodore Orji and his wife Mercy lent their voices to the gale of condemnation, with ABSU denying that”there was no such inglorious act and ugly incident in the institution.”
Mr. S said: “Some of the rapists did not even finish their secondary education; none of them is a student of the institution.”
The heartbroken man hinted of conspiracy between some powerful persons in the community, including a member of his extended family, and the rapists.
“They know what they did; the activities they and their boss are engaged in,” he added.
He said his wife told him that there were eight men in the room when she was molested.
“Four of them raped her, while the other four acted as bouncers, guard and commanders.”


 The hapless woman was pregnant with a child, whose fate was sadly sealed by the rape.


He said he found out about the rape of his wife through his colleagues. He was working offshore when his colleagues started discussing the “evils going on in the society. They said I should see what evil people are doing. I was not interested until they started talking about a sad one that happened in Abia State. They said university students raped their colleague, videoed and posted it on the internet. I said they must be cultists to have done such things.
“When they started narrating it, I got interested and asked to see the video. When I saw it (video), I listened to what the woman was saying but it was her voice that struck me. I was shocked; I said within myself ‘am I dreaming?’ The woman in the video had my wife’s voice, face and the hair style?
“I couldn’t contain myself; I asked my colleague to transfer the video to my mobile phone. I did not tell him why I wanted the video, but I wanted to compare it with her (wife’s) photo I have on my laptop computer back at home.”
After some time, he got time-off from work in an offshore location and went home to confront his wife and his worst nightmare. He said the woman initially denied she was the woman in the video before he pressured her into confessing.


Obite’s indigenes, who asked not to be named, said the husband was so angry that he summoned a family meeting and threatened to divorce his wife, if she did not open up.
“It was then that the woman narrated that she was going to visit her husband’s relative when she was lured into the house by the suspects, some of whom are her husband’s relatives,” said a source.


Our investigations revealed that the husband’s anger was fuelled by a tragedy that earlier struck the couple in 2011 when their six-month-old son – the first child of the marriage – died of complications resulting from a mysterious HIV infection.
He said: “The child was taken to a children’s clinic located in GRA Phase 1, Port Harcourt after he fell ill with cough, about two months after his birth. He was coughing without stopping and we had to take the child to the specialist hospital.”
At the hospital, the child and mother were diagnosed with the deadly Human Immune Virus (HIV). The blood report from a Haematology Laboratory Request form dated August 5, 2011, (a copy is in Niger Delta Report’s possession), showed that the mother and child tested positive to HIV antibodies. The father’s result was negative.
The result struck a blow that shook the young marriage to its foundation.
The child was barely two months old and had just be dedicated at a Pentecostal church with fanfare and an elaborate celebration party in mid-June 2011.


He said his family has been let down by the government, which allowed the case to drag on until it is almost forgotten.
He said: “Well, one thing I believe is that the crime, humiliation was not committed only against me, they did it to Nigeria, Nigerians in general and women all over the world in particular.”
The Director of Programmes, Centre for Environment, Human Rights Development (CEHRD), Steve Obodoekwe, agreed that the crime was against humanity, not just the family involved.
He expressed dissatisfaction with Ministry of Justice’s handling of the case, adding: “It is not one of such cases that should be swept under the carpet; it is unfortunate to hear that the matter is as good as dead.


“Right now, we learnt that the suspects earlier arraigned in a Magistrate’s Court in connection with the crime are no longer in custody, even when the DPP’s advice is yet being expected and the matter not yet before any High Court either in the state or country. This is, indeed, very appalling.”
He called for the conduct of a probe on how the suspects ‘escaped’ from custody.
Obodoekwe said: “They should be rearrested and detained, charged to court and tried accordingly. We are also recommending that those that let them off the hooks should be equally fished out and given the same treatment as the criminals.


culled from The Nation.