An Enugu-based righs group, the Women’s Aid Collective(WACOL) has expressed profound shock and outrage over the travails of a 34 year old woman, who was subjected to a humiliating public rape, mob torture and banishment from her community.
In a press release issued Tuesday July 28, 2026, WACOL called on the Enugu State Government to wade into the travails of the mother of six in Aninri Local Government following the harrowing reports about the inhuman treatment meted to her. It identified the heartless people involved in the barbarism to include the victim’s husband and a mob, with the support of community leaders.
The release signed by WACOL’s Snr. Communication Officer, Ezugwu Bethel, said that the hapless woman experienced “severe domestic violence, multiple rapes, mob torture, attempted murder, and subsequent banishment”.
The rights group lamented that even after passing through the series of barbaric acts, the victim and her family were banished from their community by the Traditional Ruler (Igwe) and the President General (PG) of the community for reporting the perpetrators to the police, thereby compounding their woes.
“This horrifific incident is a gross violation of human dignity, fundamental human rights, and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition [VAPP] Law 2019 of Enugu State,” WACOL said.
While condemning “in the strongest possible terms” the barbaric acts meted to the Aninri woman, WACOL stressed the need for Enugu government to intervene in getting justice for the rape survivor.
It hinged its appeal to government following the alleged involvement of both the traditional ruler and the PG in not only imposing the banishment but also shielding some of the perpetrators of the inhuman acts from police arrest.
Narrating the sordid incident, WACOL stated that based on reports and evidence available to it, “the mother of six had been enduring severe and habitual domestic violence at the hands of her husband”.
According to the rights group, the husband of the said woman “routinely physically assaulted both her and her mother” thereby compelling the victim to seek shelter outside her matrimonial home.
“In a desperate bid for safety, she rented a separate apartment. However, her husband tracked her down, refused to leave her alone, and on the night of July 17, brutally attacked her and chased her out of her new home.
“When she fled to her mother’s house, the husband pursued her there, threatening to murder her if she remained”.
WACOL further narrated that with no options left for her and fearing for her life, the victim sought refuge with a male customer, said to be a palm kernel trader. But being a married man, the trader took the distraught woman to a friend’s house for temporary shelter.
“Tragically, the friend connived with another community resident to hold down the palm kernel trader, locked the doors and raped the fleeing woman,” the NGO said.
The rapist was not done yet after the heinous act as he was said to have “maliciously locked the kernel trader with the rape survivor inside the house and ran to inform the victim’s husband of her whereabouts.
“The husband arrived with a mob, broke down the door, and subjected the survivor to the following unimaginable horrors”, including public rape and assault”.
According to WACOL, “the husband publicly raped the survivor while members of the
mob restrained the trader who had tried to help her”, adding that “after stealing all the money on her person, the husband bought drinks for local youths, men, and women.
He incited the mob and incited them to torture the palm kernel seller and the survivor, subjecting them to dehumanization and torture.
“The mob stripped them naked, spat on them, and brutally beat them. Female members of the mob used broken bottles to violently shave the survivor’s hair, while others inflflicted severe cutlass wounds all over their bodies,” WACOL said.
It stated that the mob attempted to murder the rape survivor as they dragged the severely injured woman into an “evil forest” and abandoned her there to die.
However, after three days alone in the forest and on the brink of death, the survivor, was said to have “managed to crawl to the main road where Good Samaritans found her,
contacted her sister, and ensured her rescue”.
“She is currently receiving medical treatment at the police clinic while hiding,” said the rights group which focuses mostly on women and children.
WACOL identified obstruction of justice and community complicity in its efforts to get justice for the victim, noting that “victim-blaming and unconstitutional banishment is a gross abuse of power”.
It vehemently condemned the role played by the traditional ruler, saying, “We are deeply concerned by reports that the community’s Igwe initially used his inflfluence to bail out the suspects before they were rightfully rearrested”.
WACOL commended the Enugu State Police Command for their timely intervention that led to some arrests of some suspects, including the victim’s husband and some female accomplices, while several perpetrators remain at large.
It urged the State Commissioner of Police to ensure that all fleeing suspects are apprehended, insisting that “the husband, the rapist who provided the shelter, and every member of the mob involved in this torture must be fully prosecuted”.
WACOL further demanded that the police “must launch an immediate search and rescue (or recovery) operation for the missing male trader who was attacked by the mob”.
“The police must provide adequate security for the survivor, her sister, and her family,
who are currently living in fear for their lives,” the rights group demanded.
“We maintain that no woman should ever be subjected to this level of barbarism and humiliation (suffered by the Aninri woman)”.
“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians, human rights organizations, and the media to join us in demanding justice for this mother of six,” WACOL stated.
