ollywood actress, Dorothy Njemanze has spoken up about her ordeal at the hands of some Army officers.
Njemanze said, “On my way from the ambassador for peace beauty pageant held at the Sheraton Hotels, I decided to check on my brother at the end of my street. I parked my car in front of Dreams Garden at the end of my street behind one bus, and was going in to see my brother when a man dressed in a man-o-war uniform appeared from nowhere and shoved me on my breasts, commanding that I get into the bus I parked behind.
“I reprimanded him for touching my breasts but instead of apologising, he continued to push me by my breasts towards the bus, so when I could not bear it anymore I pushed him too and started running away.
“Three men wearing man-o-war uniform and a head warmer, no name tags, and two plain clothes police officers ran after me. When they caught me they descended on me, beating me mercilessly despite the fact that I was screaming who I was.
“A girl who was waiting for me in my car, after waiting for a while and did not see me, came down to go and look for me at my brother’s place. She was horrified to see all those uniformed men assaulting me and trying to force me into the bus.”
She went further, “She started pleading with them, telling them who I am and even showing them my car keys, but all to no avail. She started screaming when she thought they were going to kill me and that attracted people’s attention. When a crowd gathered and people started recognising me, they started coming to my rescue and there was almost a mob attack.
“A soldier out of fear cocked his gun and said he would shoot me if I did not enter the bus. What hurts most is that I have been fighting against violence against women, and now I am a victim.
“The team that assaulted me tried to escape but I chased them down to area 10. My brother found me there and another soldier cocked a gun, pointed at his tummy and threatened to shoot. A female soldier cocked her gun and pointed at Justina, the girl in my car.
“Apparently the female soldier wanted to shoot Justina for having piercings on her face, because she said Justina was not ‘a true Nigerian’.
“Women have been randomly abducted and forced to confess to prostitution by AEPB in conjunction with the questionable NGO, Society Against Prostitution and Child Labour. I have over 70 cases against them and now I am a victim. Women are not safe in Abuja.
- Daily Times
