Helen (surname withheld) will be 20 years on October 10. But she now bears a burden that is too heavy for her age. She was gang-raped in January this year and was diagnosed with HIV last month. Due to the heart-rending experience and the medical diagnosis that followed, the once cheerful and vivacious Helen now wears a long face as she carries with her the psychological burden of the experience
After secondary school in 2008, Helen wanted to further her education, but being the fifth of 11 children comes with its own challenge. “Na the condition of no money, na im prevent me from going further,” said Helen when asked why she had not bothered to continue her education. Despite her background, Helen was unperturbed. Determined that she would return to school some day, she began working as a cleaner in a big firm at Lekki, Lagos, from where she hoped to save for school. She had worked there for almost a year before the tragic episode that altered her life dramatically took place.It was with a deep emotion that she recounted her ordeal.
All was quiet and the street lonely early that Tuesday morning when the unsuspecting lady set out from her Bariga home to resume her morning shift at work. It was at exactly 5:05am, the same time she often left home everyday to board a bus some streets away to Lagos Island. But that morning, something was not right. She noticed five young men lurking about as she got out of her street’s gate. On seeing their fearsome appearance, her heart skipped a beat.Consumed by fear, her first instinct was to turn and run back into the street, but it was too late. She had been spotted. “They blocked and grabbed me. They pointed a gun at me and told me to be quiet and do everything they said I should do, or else they would harm me,” Helen said before she was overcome by emotion. After a short silence that seemed ages, she added: “I tried to shout but when I looked around and did not see anybody except those guys, I was so afraid and did as they said… They, then, carried me to one corner by the side of the street… (She bowed her head). They asked me to lie down.” Helen went silent again with head still bowed, to hold back tears. She said: “I begged them to release me, that I was on my way to work and that I didn’t have anything to offer them. They told me to shut up, saying they would waste me, if I didn’t like my life. I begged them to spare my life.” Her plea touched a member of the gang; he said she should be freed. But his statement fell on deaf ears, for Helen’s other attackers were determined to carry out their task to the letter. Fighting back tears, she said: “The others said he could leave if he wanted to; they then collected my handbag, my purse and the N5,000 inside with my two phones – one was in my hand. I used its torchlight; the other was in my Jeans pocket. They removed the phone, pulled off my trousers and started violating me (Silence)…They asked me to pull off my clothes. I begged them.”
Her face became contorted as the agony of the incident swelled her being. Helen became silent again. One could see she was fighting to hide several conflicting emotions as she recounted. “But was there no way you could have shouted for help?” the reporter asked in an attempt to douse the tension. “There was no way I could have shouted because there were five of them against only me… I was so scared. So, I just kept begging them to release me.” As her attackers were beginning to enjoy their violent act, they spotted another young man and lady walking towards them. Helen’s attackers also pounced on the couple, robbing them of their valuables at gunpoint. Two of them also ra’ped the second lady. By that time, Helen’s eyes were already swollen, from her trauma and obvious helplessness in the hands of the crooks. The two men ra’ped the girl while the other three continued ra’ping me,” she said in a subdued voice. On how she felt when her violators had their turns, Helen, in tears, said: “I swallowed my scream, felt very bad and closed my eyes as each of them…(Silence). For my mind e be like say make I get knife take kill them, because it was a very painful thing to experience. Before they started, I had asked if they had condoms but they said ‘No’. ‘’