News Wings

Tag: Rape

  • First two Chibok schoolgirls graduate from US colleges 10 years after mass abductions in Nigeria

    First two Chibok schoolgirls graduate from US colleges 10 years after mass abductions in Nigeria

    –          Two survivors of the 2014 abduction of 276 girls by Boko Haram terrorists in Chibok, Nigeria, graduate from US colleges after receiving scholarships from the Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF) and Victims Support Fund

    –        MMF calls for more support for youths affected by conflict and in urgent need for education and empowerment

    The Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF) and Victims Support Fund (VSF) today announced the graduation of Patience Bulus and Mercy Ali Paul, survivors of the 2014 Boko Haram mass abductions in Chibok, a town in Borno State, Nigeria. Patience graduated from Dickinson College, majoring in Gender Studies and Religion and Mercy graduated from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) with an Associate Degree in Social Science.

    Patience and Mercy’s journey to graduation was enabled by a partnership between MMF and VSF, to provide full scholarships and personal growth opportunities to the rescued Chibok girls, enabling them to pursue higher education at renowned universities in the United States. Patience was also inducted as an Honorable Member of the National Society of Leadership and Success at Dickinson College in 2021.

    10 years after the Chibok abductions shocked the world, insecurity and mass kidnapping in Nigeria are increasing, leaving a devastating impact on people across the country and posing a major threat to the economy. Recent kidnappings highlight the ongoing threat faced by young people in conflict zones. Young people affected by conflict need urgent support, including access to education, security, and restoration of livelihoods. Strengthening Nigeria’s education system is crucial for empowering, economic progress and inclusive growth.

    With over 200 million people, Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children globally. The country’s literacy rate is c.60%, with significant disparities between urban and rural areas. There is a critical need for Nigeria’s tertiary education system to contribute to the country’s development trajectory – providing skills to young people with aspirations for a better quality of life.

    Speaking at Patience’s graduation in Carlisle Pennsylvania, USA, Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, Founder and CEO of Murtala Muhammed Foundation, said: “The abduction of 276 schoolgirls 10 years ago from their boarding school signalled the urgency of action to secure education for girls in Nigeria. As an organisation with a vision to advance positive education and social outcomes for women, we celebrate Patience and Mercy’s achievements today as a powerful example of resilience and we celebrate their determination not to be defined by the past but focused on the future. Many more girls in Chibok and other conflict-affected communities deserve this opportunity so today we are calling for immediate action at the local and global levels to enable access to quality education and build self-reliance in conflict-affected communities.”

    With 91 girls in captivity, many of the Chibok schoolgirls have returned as mothers. Rape, coercion, and extremism are often weapons of war; the need to protect women and girls must not be ignored. Sexual slavery/reproductive health are at heightened risk in conflict zones.

    Sharing their inspirational journey to completing their education,

    Mercy Ali Paul said: “Graduating feels like a dream I never thought would come true. Ten years ago, I was just hoping to survive the nightmare of abduction. Each moment I spent with Boko Haram was filled with fear and uncertainty, but my faith kept me strong. I finally escaped and I became determined after that to reclaim my life. I knew education was the key to rebuilding my future, and now with this diploma, I feel empowered. My journey has been challenging, but the support from my family, friends, and the sponsoring organisations from Nigeria made it possible. I hope my story inspires other girls in Nigeria and around the world to never give up, no matter how dark their circumstances may seem.”

    Patience Bulus said: “Walking across this stage today is more than just receiving a diploma; it’s a testament to resilience and hope. Ten years ago, Boko Haram tried to take away our futures, but they couldn’t take away our dreams. Escaping their grip was just the first step. Adapting to life in the U.S. and catching up with my education was incredibly challenging, but every struggle was worth it. Today, that I graduate with a degree from a prestigious college, is not just for myself, but for the countless girls who are yet to make it out. This achievement is dedicated to them and the power of community support. The encouragement and resources provided by sponsors in Nigeria and others here in the U.S. made this possible. I am excited to use my education to advocate for girls’ rights and education worldwide. Today is proof that with perseverance and support, we can overcome even the most harrowing experiences.”

    The initiative also gave the girls psychosocial support, immigration support, and essential aid and resources for their academic development.

  • ‘Pins, cowries, sea stones, fetish substances were inside my body’, Chiwetalu Agu

    ‘Pins, cowries, sea stones, fetish substances were inside my body’, Chiwetalu Agu

    Actor, Chiwetalu Agu, sits with the host of #WithChude, Chude Jideonwo to discuss his dramatic arrest for wearing Biafran colours, sexual harassment and the gender wars, and how he survived death. 

    Speaking on his dramatic arrest for wearing the Biafran colours, he shared, “I was in Onitsha; I was buying bread. I came out to buy 4,000 worth of bread for the masses of Onitsha. I didn’t know when I bought more than that. By the time the soldiers came, I had bought 10,000-naira worth of bread. I had finished a shoot in Asaba, and I came to Onitsha just to say hello to some people. These people way-laid me out of hunger, and I had to stop to buy something for them. But, as I was buying, the population was multiplying. I didn’t even know the time the soldiers came. It is not a thing that you can find in civilized countries. What I heard from the grapevine was that an APC Man was watching the crowd multiply and was thinking that I was gathering votes for PDP. If you had seen me politicking, it would have made sense, but I was never seen anywhere. Anywhere I go, for all the (political) parties, I play father. And a father will always be neutral. If, for any reason, they put me in politics, I can’t play it the way you people are playing it.  

    “The only grounds for suspicion must have been that I was wearing Biafran clothes which I wore out of fancy. I didn’t meet any IPOB, IPOB is always in the mentality, and because they are fighting for a good cause, we can afford to talk about them all the time”, he added.  

    On his thoughts on sexual harassment and the outburst that followed, he shared, “The situation today is that women are now dominating. It is no longer men harassing women, women have taken over. Men no longer go to hotels or brothels, because women now confront you in the street, they don’t wait for you to come and see them in the hotel. That time is gone. Society has changed, women are now in control and men are dodging. Society is better now because when men were mounting pressure, there was bound to be rape, but today things have been changed” 

    Speaking on the attacks he faced, Chiwetalu Agu shared, “People were looking at me as if I were dying. I was shrinking. These were deadly arrows. Pins, cowries, sea stones, fetish substances were inside my body. I scratched. Then I will go to Prophet Ugo, who is somewhere. He has his office in a place called ‘Maryland area’. He’s a man I will call my man. We all have seen this world from peculiar angles where your enemy, personal enemy or family enemy, would just use medicine what Yoruba would call ‘juju’. Y

    ‘ou won’t know when they enter your body. Until they begin to scratch you, to give you hell, that is to pain you as if you’ll die the next moment. But if you go to Prophet Ugo, he will bring his holy oil to treat you. If you say, ‘it’s here’, he’ll bring the oil, rub here, rub it this way, and hold and feel it. If he feels the pin in your body, he’ll pull it. The picture is on Instagram. They’re still at my place, fresh. I’m keeping all of them for D-day. When I’ll say, ‘God, let me go and give special thanks to you’.  I’ve been thanking God every morning in my prayer, but this one I’m going to do it for God. Even many who were vast in using ‘medicine’ to kill fellow human beings, they saw me when I survived some of their attempts and they marvelled”. 

  • Feature: Women-related Policy Commitments to be made by Nigerian Presidential Candidates

    Feature: Women-related Policy Commitments to be made by Nigerian Presidential Candidates

    By Ayo Akinfe

    Have you all not noticed that our presidential candidates have very few women around them. It is time for our women’s groups to get them to sign up to policy commitments like this-

    [1] Upon assuming office you will scrap all laws which limit a woman’s right to inherit family property

    [2] Child marriages will become criminalised immediately with a minimum 10 year prison sentence for convicted criminals

    [3] Across Nigeria, 50% women’s representation will be guaranteed in all elected and appointed positions

    [4] Free smear tests will be made available in all states of the federation

    [5] Free childcare will be made available in all 774 local government areas

    [6] Paid maternity leave will become compulsory and statutory

    [7] Free breast cancer treatment will be available in every state capital

    [8] The federal government will provide free maternity centres in every local government area

    [9] Sex with a minor becomes statutory rape carrying a five year prison sentence

    [10] Domestic violence carries a minimum of a five year sentence.

  • Feature: The Negativity of Africa

    Feature: The Negativity of Africa

    by Ayo Akinfe

    One of the biggest problems Africa faces is the negativity of its own people. Those misguided individuals who think Nigeria can never work or who call for its balkanisation are among our worst enemies.

    [1] World War II is one is my favourite historical topics. I just cannot stop marvelling at the ingenuity it brought to the fore. It was during this conflict that the world made the switch from an agrarian economy into an industrial one. As a specie, mankind showed that we can do anything we want if we want to

    [2] Within four years, we were mass-producing battle tanks, fighter planes, submarines, battle ships, bombers, air craft carriers, trucks, etc on an industrial scale. Economies like those of the US and USSR were radically transformed overnight. Planes that would normally take six months to build were rolling off the production line every 10 minutes

    [3] It was also World War II that effectively ended official sexism and misogyny in the workplace. Men had to go to the front, so women became the backbone of the factory. In the Red Army, they went even further as they had female combatants. I cannot believe that some 80 years on we are still debating rape, child brides and the role of women in society

    [4] When it comes to D-Day itself, you have to marvel at how 360,000 men were dropped off in an amphibious landing within 24 hours. Some of the planning that went into this project, including making tanks float on water, producing automated mine sweepers, building bombs that stuck to enemy tanks, laying a crude oil pipeline between Britain and France within 24 hours, building two floating docks, etc, just makes you realise that man can do anything he wants to if he puts his mind to it

    [5] When I see the way the Soviets for instance moved all their factories to the east of the country and built a whole new city called Tankograd to manufacture the famous T-34 tank, I ask myself why are countries like Nigeria struggling to maintain common oil refineries or to run ordinary steel plants

    [6] When I look at how the British built two floating docks and moved them over to France, I ask why the Nigerian Atlantic coastline is not littered with ports. Are we really human? I must confess, the answer to this question can be uncomfortable at times because our behaviour at times does not reflect that of the rest of the human race

    [7] As a continent, Africa is now at a crossroads, so she has to decide on what she wants to do. Thanks to coronavirus, nobody wants primary commodities at the moment and thanks to George Floyd, the rest of the world appears now interested in welcoming the negro into the human race. We have to seize both opportunities with both hands, or the moment will soon be gone

    [8] As a first step, the African Union should call an emergency meeting and pass a resolution banning all its members from exporting primary products in the post-coronavirus era. Every item exported from the African continent from 2023 onwards must have some value added to it. For me, 50% value addition should be the bare minimum

    [9] Africa’s message to the rest of the world should be crystal clear. If you want our petroleum, cocoa, plantain, tin, bauxite, gold, diamonds, rubber, etc, come and open processing plants on our continent. We are no longer prepared to keep being the footmat of the rest of the world

    [10] If all we do is supply the rest of the world with raw materials and then spend the proceeds on owambes, elaborate parties in Dubai, SUVs, private jets, magnificent churches and mosques to boost the egos of millionaire clergymen, foreign health trips, etc, we have no moral right to complain when the rest of humanity regards us as sub-human.

  • Nigeria Youths stage protest against rape in Ibadan

    Nigeria Youths stage protest against rape in Ibadan

    Due to the increasing case of rape cases in Nigeria, some Nigerian youths today staged a protest in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital today.

    The group of people which comprises of different non-governmental organizations such as Royal Ambassadors of Nigeria, Man O’war, students and several women oriented organizations took this step in order to show their concerns over the unpleasant scenario which is almost turning to the order of the day.

    The protest took the organized youths to the National Orientation Agency’s office at Agodi-gate before they later proceeded to the state secretariat where they were addressed by Rt. Hon. Debo Ogundoyin, the speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, who made it known to the teeming youths that drastic steps are ongoing on the unpleasant scenario and perpetrators shall surely face the music.

    Meanwhile, the Speaker added that there will be a meeting with the stakeholders in the state and 20 representative of the National youths group on Thursday by 12pm at the assembly complex located within the state secretariat.

  • Police arrest man for raping 38 year old woman

    Police arrest man for raping 38 year old woman

    Ogun state Police Command on Thursday said it has arrested a 27-year-old man, Adam Kunle ‘m’ of Makogi area in Ibafo, for forcefully having unlawful carnal knowledge of a 38-year-old woman. Police spokesman in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed that the suspect was arrested following a report by the victim (name withheld) who complaint at Ibafo Police Station.

    According to the police, while the victim was sleeping in her room at about 12:30pm, the suspect who lives in a house not too far to her own residence sneaked into the woman’s room where he forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of her against her wish.

    This happened while the victim was sleeping in her room at about 12:30pm, the suspect who lives in a house not too far to her own residence sneaked into the woman’s room where he forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of her against her wish.


    “Upon the report, the DCO Ibafo, SP Akindele Andrew, quickly led detectives to the scene where the suspect was promptly arrested and taken to the station,” he said. He added that the suspect confessed to the commission of the crime, but claimed to have been making advances to the victim for quite sometime, saying the victim has been rejecting his offer. “He stated further that he took advantage of the lady being the only person at home on that day to have his way on her; the victim has been taken to the hospital for medical attention and report,” he noted. He added that the state’s Commissioner of Police, CP Bashir Makama, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the Anti-human trafficking and child labour unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution.