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Project Alert ,others
identify ABSU rape victim,condemn Abia Govt
By
Abidemi Dairo
ynaija.com Sat Sep 24,2011
Josephine Chukwuma of Project Alert
The Abia State University gang rape victim has been identified
by a coalition of different human right groups. The groups
include but not limited to, Project Alert on Violence Against
Women, Enough is Enough, National Human Right Commission and
Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, amongst others. According to
Mrs. Josephine Chukwuma, director Project Alert, the victim, a
certified student of Abia State University is still alive as
oppose to reports suggesting otherwise.
“We have located her there in Abia State,” Chukwuma said.
Chuckwuma also revealed that the victim is currently in a
delicate state psychologically: “That girl is a ticking bomb
right now; she is a potential suicide case or a murder case.
Imagine she can lay her hands on a weapon now, what do you think
will happen to her rapists? We are working on how to get her out
of the state for protection and rehabilitation. Her safety comes
first before we can begin to talk about justice. We need to show
her all the love and support she requires to get over the
trauma, before we begin to pursue justice.”
She also bemoans the lackadaisical attention the State
Government has adopted on the issue. “It is a shame that the
state government will dismiss the case without proper
investigation. It appears the government is more interested in
protecting the name of the state than making sure justice
prevail. In less than 24 hours, the State government and the
school authority have come out to deny the incident without
investigating first. There are even rumors that the Vice
Chancellor is threatening to rusticate the victim is she
escalates the matter. We need to get her out of that state for
her own safety first,” she laments.
She calls on the Ministers of Youth Development and Women
Affairs and other pressure groups to sustain the pressure to
ensure that the victim is adequately protected and rehabilitated
and that justice is carried out.
“I call on our ministers and other pressure groups and human
right groups to follow up the case and see to it that the victim
receives adequate counseling and that the perpetrators of this
crime be fished out and made to face the law,” she said.
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