“They Beat Me, Tore My Clothes, Called Me Prostitute” – NYSC Member Recounts Ordeal With Anambra Vigilantes

Jennifer Elohor, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Anambra, has shared her experience after she and her colleagues were assaulted by operatives of a local vigilante group.

A video, recorded on July 23 but circulated on August 19, showed armed members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group attacking NYSC members in their lodge.

In the viral video, Jennifer Elohor was seen being beaten and stripped by men carrying guns, despite identifying herself as a corps member.

The corps members showed their NYSC identity cards after the vigilantes accused them of being involved in internet fraud, but the men ignored them and went ahead with the assault.

The incident sparked outrage across social media, prompting the Anambra State government to arrest and dismiss the eight vigilantes involved.

Speaking in an interview with content creator Aprokoking, Elohor described the incident as terrifying and called for justice.

She explained that she and her fellow corps members were at their lodge around 5 p.m. when loud knocks came on the door.

The NYSC member said that before they could respond, the door was forced open, and a masked man with a gun stormed in without any uniform or form of identification.

Elohor said the group ignored every attempt to prove they were corps members before the situation quickly turned violent.

According to her, the vigilantes assaulted her and forced nine corps members into a vehicle, warning them against reaching out to anyone.

Elohor said they were eventually taken to the group’s office in Oba without being allowed to contact their Local Government Inspector (LGI) or NYSC authorities.

She said, “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.

“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.

“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.”

Watch the video below:

KanyiDaily recalls that another video circulating on social media shows the moment a woman stripped naked inside a bank in Lagos to express her frustration over the scarcity of Naira notes.