‘They called me prostitute, threatened to shoot’ — corps member Elohor Edema recounts vigilante assault

Jennifer Elohor Edema, the corps member assaulted by Anambra vigilantes, has narrated her ordeal.

On August 19, a video surfaced showing operatives of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group physically assaulting a female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member and her colleagues at their lodge in Anambra.

The video, filmed on July 23, showed Elohor being beaten and stripped by men carrying guns.

The armed men had stormed the lodge and accused the corps members of being involved in internet fraud.

An account of the incident by a legal non-profit stated that despite the corps members showing their NYSC identification cards, the vigilante members proceeded to beat them, with the assault on Elohor being particularly severe.

The incident has since spurred public outrage, resulting in the arrest of the vigilante men and reactions from the NYSC.

She narrated that she and other corps members were in their lodge at 5 pm when they heard an aggressive knock on the door, which was later kicked open.

In her account, a masked armed man entered the room without identifying himself or wearing a uniform.

Elohor said she and her colleagues tried to explain that they were corps members, showing their NYSC identity cards, but were ignored.

She alleged that the men ransacked their room, took their phones and laptops, and became violent.

The distraught corps member said nine of them were forced into the vehicle, where they were slapped and threatened with having their phones smashed if they contacted anyone.

Read her FULL ACCOUNT of the assault below:

“My co-corpers and I were in our lodge charging our phones and minding our business. We heard a knock on the door. At first, we thought it was our neighbour’s door being knocked on, because it was a three-storey building with a lot of flats.

“We ignored it the first time until we heard it again. This time, it was way more aggressive. I decided to go and check who was on the other end. Before I got there, the door was kicked in. If I had taken a step further, the door would have hit me.

“I saw a masked man with a gun. He wasn’t wearing any form of uniform. No form of identification. At first, I was afraid that it was an armed robber until I heard him say, “all of you, outside”. I summoned a little courage to ask why.

“All of us are corpers in the room. In the middle of that argument, my colleagues came to ask what was going on. I told them he was ordering us out for reasons he’s not disclosing. He didn’t tell us where he’s coming from or introduce himself.

“My colleague brought his ID and told the others to do the same. But they ignored us. They forced their way into our rooms, searched out laptops and phones. They became aggressive and said we were doing yahoo. We tried to explain,” she continued.

“Some of us were not with our IDs because we came for our PPAs. We showed them our NYSC portals. But they pushed us downstairs.

“They asked me why I was challenging them as a woman. When we got downstairs, we saw their vehicle and realised they’re an Anambra vigilante group. Even if we were to go with them to their office, we should call our LGI or proprietor so that they know, since we didn’t know where we were being taken.

“That was when they started beating me, asking what gave me the right to question them. They said they would smash our phones if we called anyone. They beat me, tore my clothes. One of my colleagues was pleading on my behalf, but they hit her with an iron rod.

“I requested to change into new clothes, but they refused and tossed me into the vehicle. They slapped me, called me a prostitute. They threatened to shoot me and toss my corpse in the bush. They picked nine of us, all corpers,” Elohor added.

“We asked to give them our LGI’s number. They refused. They took us to their secretariat in Oba.

“I want justice. I want those people punished in the best way possible.”