Akwa Ibom: Gunmen rob, rape, and attack the NYSC lodge

 Akwa Ibom: Gunmen rob, rape, and attack the NYSC lodge

On Wednesday, armed individuals broke into the National Youth Service Scheme Corpers' lodge in the Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, off Information Drive, and raped the ladies who were inside.

According to reports, the gunmen who assaulted the neighborhood about one in the morning took away items like laptops, cell phones, and cash on tricycles.

Some of the corps members complained that despite the cries for help during the incident, no one responded when they spoke with newsmen the following morning.

They arrived on a tricycle known as a "Keke," according to one of the corp members who identified himself as Emeka Emmanuel, and they got right to work. They threatened to open every door with heavy iron as they pounced on them with high-intensity torchlight.

A female Corps member who also spoke on the condition of anonymity and choked back tears claimed that after the thugs broke into her room through the back door, they forcibly took her phones, laptop, and cash.

"You know, most of us females used to sleep naked at that time of night, so the attack's suddenness caught us off guard. They threatened to shoot if the door wasn't opened right away and shone the torch through the window, she said.

"I have never heard of Corpers being specifically targeted, raped, and robbed by thieves at gunpoint anywhere in Nigeria, not even in the North, where insecurity is at its worst. Is it because we aren't Akwa natives? Another female copper lamented.

 "I raised alarm by hitting the supporting pillars holding the rebuilt NUJ auditorium," said Mr. Nsikak Ibanga, a night guard at the State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, which is located across from the corpers lodge. "The sound reverberated across the entire area, but no response," he added.

Bassey Offiong, a different neighbor, stated: "When I heard the attack and the outcry of the Corpers, I promptly went out to the Police at Ikot Akpanabia Command, which is fairly close here, but they arrived a bit late after the criminals had completed and left with their tricycle."

Additionally, Comrade Godwin Okpo, the Youth Leader in the region, attributed the breakdown of local residents' internal security plans as the cause of persistent criminal activity in and surrounding communities.

"I used to go door to door asking people for money to help the vigilante group secure the neighborhood at night, but all of a sudden they started accusing me of stealing their money, so I couldn't do it anymore.

He continued, "I moved to the location when I heard the occurrence late last night at 1:00 am this morning, but since I was alone myself, there was nothing I could do," he said.

He attributed the youths' incapacity to venture outside to the loudness of generators running into the late hours of the night in most households.

He emphasized, "I've advised them to turn off their generators at midnight so we can hear what's going on in the communities.

Odiko Macdon, the police public relations officer, responded to a message from our correspondent by stating that he had not yet received a complete briefing on the incident and that he would look into it.

I don't have any information regarding the incident, but I'll look into it and let you know, he replied.