A fourteen year old Edidiong Uko from Ikot Ekpene village in Ikot Ekpene local government area of Akwa Ibom State has on Tuesday narrated to community educators from the coalition of Eastern NGOs (CENGOs) how her uncle always beat her up before raping her.
The teenager, an orphan told the group that she started living with her uncle immediately her last parent, father died after a brief illness.
Recall that the Coalition of Eastern NGOs(CENGOS) in collaboration with CIRDDOC in a project sponsored by Amplify change had in 2020 coopted volunteers who embarked in a house to house campaign against gender based violence as well as enlightenment on sexual health and reproductive right in communities.
The programme according to the organisers was aimed at eradicating the incidences of gender based violence in the communities as well as making women in the rural areas be informed and get help on issues pertaining to their sexuality.
The Educators assigned to Ikot Ekpene village it was gathered met the victim who later identified herself as Comfort, (surname withheld), in one of their outings in April.
The girl at the middle of interaction with the team, explained how she was molested, assaulted and abused by her paternal uncle.
She further explained that her uncle would always beat her up before raping adding that she decided to run away from home(uncle’s house) when her uncle who is her late father’s younger brother threatened to kill her.
According to her, “my uncle will always lock me in a room, whenever he comes back he will beat me up before raping me.”
Asked why her uncle would always beat her before committing the act, she said ” may be because I always resist and fight with him each time he wanted to rape me.
“but there was a time he travelled to Portharcourt, when he came back, he bought cream, roll on and perfume for me. I was very happy and i collected those things but around 9pm, by then I had already slept he came to my room and started touching me all over.
“I was begging him to stop but when he didn’t, I started shouting and that got him angry and he began to beat me again and was trying to pull off my pant, he therefore pushed me on the floor and I continued struggling with him.
“I saw a glass cup on the floor, I picked it and hit him, he therefore hit my breast and chest which weakened me and at that point he had his way and raped me. He continued that way for the whole week.
“I was forced to run away to this Aunty’s home I’m staying with when he started threatening to kill me saying that I have nobody that would question him. He will verbally abuse me and my late parents. Even my father, whose gratuity and pension he collected, he refused to give anything to my elder brother who is struggling to survive and myself.”
The educators however made a referral to the social welfare in the community and the CENGOS office in the State for proper attention.
The leader of the team who decried the incident told our correspondent that rape cases especially on minors were prevalent in the community and expressed hope that with right approach, the menace would be contained.
