Enugu state government has commenced rehabilitation of the 44 year old widow, Mrs Anthonia Okonkwo, from Ibite Mmaku, Awgu local government area of the state who was stripped and paraded round the community unclad by some youths for allegedly picking snails from a sacred grove.
Mrs Okonkwo is said to be currently undergoing medical examination in a hospital at Affam-Mmaku.
The commissioner, Enugu state Ministry of Gender Affairs and Social Development, Princess Peace Nnaji, who made this known in a press briefing explained that the children of the victim were not left out in the welfare intervention by the state government.
“The governor of Enugu State, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is a respecter of religion and custodian of culture so long as it conforms and upholds the tenets of human rights. Governor Ugwuanyi is not happy at all at the act of those angry youths on the woman. That is why he designated the state Ministry of Gender Affairs and Social Develpment to commence rehabilitation of the victim.”
The comissioner continued “In fact, this is a slap on the dignity of womanhood. Her rights have been trampled upon. The woman is now under serious medical check to assertain the state of her health. Those boys who I know are now in police net must be punished in accordance to the stipulations in Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law which has been domesticated in Enugu state.”she said.
Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Agunese Mmaku, Igwe Mmaduabuchi Nevo-Obasi, commended the prompt intervention of the state government on the issue and promised that the perpetrators of the crime would face the full weight of the law.
He said “my eyes as a traditional ruler and cutodian of the culture in Agunese Mmaku could not behold the babaric act in the trending video. I was really disappointed in those boys who failed to have chanelled the allegations to appropriate quarter in the community. For more than (25) years as the traditional ruler of the area, we have never striped anyone naked for what so ever offence or boundaries crossed.”
“Last week, the children of the victim were in school when some persons pointed at them as those their mother was striped naked. You can imagine the type of segregation and descriminaton they have been exposed to. But thank God that when the local Government Chairman of Awgu heard it, he transfered their academics to another school in a different environment to avoid exposing them to traumatic experience.”
Earlier in an interview, the victim she, said” my customer who was caught by the angry youths brought them to my house where they broke into my window, dragged me out, tore my clothes, stripped me naked, burnt all my other clothes and stole about thirty thousand naira cash (#30,000,00) from my house and that was the all and all I had for the upkeep of my children.”
In a speech, the Chairman Awgu local Government Area Chief Pedro Okwidili Nwankwo, described the incident as barbaric.
He condemned the angry youths who took laws into their hands, “if actually the allegations were verified to have been true, they could have contacted the Igwe, Onowu or the chief priest. Afterall, why were they fighting for the gods who the woman has allegedly dared?
Why not allow the gods handle the case the way that would appease him. I thank God for the governor of Enugu state, the ministry of Gender and the state commissioner of police for being in their interventions.”he stated.
It could be recalled that the woman was stripped naked and paraded round the village without clothes for daring to pick snails from a forest regarded as sacred in the village.
In a viral video of the woman on the social media, a mob beat her up and then stripped her naked, tied palm fronts round her naked waist and neck before parading her round the village.
