EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD WOMAN AND FOUR OTHER GIRLS ESCAPED BEING RAPED BY NIGERIAN POLICEMEN



L-R Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Chairman NHRC, Prof. Akin Oyebode Guest speaker and Barr. Richard Nwankwo president of Crusade For Justice at the 10th Anniversary/ Annual lecture on the theme HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES ON THE NIGERIAN ROADS which was held at Sheraton Hotel on May 8, 2012

Crusade For Justice, a non Governmental Organisation organised a lecture with the theme-HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES ON THE NIGERIAN ROADS at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos on May 8, 2012. The lecture was delivered by Professor Akin Oyebode (Professor of International Law). The Prof. made it known that Law enforcement agents must respect the rights of Road users in the country. He said the years of the locust by which the orge of military dictatorship had since been characterized were particularly acute in relation to abuse of the rights of Nigerians by rampaging hordes of uniformed personnel who envinced scant regard for civility and respect for their compatriots. This has been particularly so when ordinary citizens were caught in traffic logjams which impeded movement of the khaki-clad lords of the manor, ostensibly, on urgent national assignment. This hapless victims of the impunity of these lords of the manor were not spared of instruments of terror and intimidation, raging from sirens, Horse whips and even gun-shots in a bid to exact right of way from the “bloody civilian” who dared stand their way and remind all and sundry who was boss. This act is a Human Right violation and abuse on the Nigerian Road. After a wonderful lecture, the audience where asked to ask question, rather than ask question, Mrs. Mandy Asagba took the house back memory lane of how she escaped being raped by armed policemen alongside four other girls. According to her, she was a stucent of the University of Benin in Abraka campus studying Political Science and she had just finished her exams so she had to travelling to Lagos for her holiday. She boarded a vehicle and inside the vehicle were four other girls who were students and where heading to Lagos for their holiday. I was eighteen years then she said. On our way to benin, we met a Road block and the Policemen stopped the vehicle, did the necessary inspection, then asked us( Five girls) to come down, we came down and to our surprise, they asked the vehicle to go and the vehicle left. We were forced into the bush by the policemen who later asked us to undress. I and the other four refused and I started screeming, but as God will have it, one of my lecturers, Rev. Echecube came to our resue. If not for God, we would have been raped says Mandy Asagba who was then Miss Mandy Demechi. That experience made switch from political science to Law said Mandy.

Another example of Road abuse was stated by Rev. Tunji Adebiyi Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Regional Integration. According to him, a Bishop was travelling and he met a Road block and after the policemen had finished searching and found not incriminating, they then asked him why he was travelling alone? He responded that he was not travelling alone and that he was travelling with God the father, Son, Holyspirit, God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and quickly one of them answered oga, you are carring overload, this he said is a Human Right Violation and Abuse on the Nigerian Road.

Another example that was sighted was by Leonard Dibia, director access for Justice. He said a justice was travelling to his home town and decided to drive himself, after some kilometres, he met some policemen and they did all the search and found nothing, then one said why is your engine this dirty, don`t you know it`s a crime? Then the Man (Justice) then identified himself and they started begging these and more are what Nigerians experience on the Roads and according to Barr. Richard Nwankwo President/Founder of Crusade For Justice the organisers of the lecture, said that the purpose of the lecture was to create awareness to the Nigerian public that when they experience similar situations, they should know that their rights are infringed on and that they have every right to re-dress them legally.



The cross section of the audience

Mrs Mandy Asagba narrating how her and four other girls escaped being raped by Nigerian Policemen in 1983

Rev. Tunde Adebiyi said that a bishop was accused by Nigerian Police of overloading his car just because he said we was not travelling alone.

Leonard Dibia second left narrating the story of a justce who was accused by Nigerian Policemen on the highway for committing a crime because they said his car engine was dirty.