By Frank Tietie
A disturbing incident occurred recently in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, where operatives of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, also known as Operation Udo Ga-Achi, assaulted a female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member named Jennifer Edema Elohor and her colleagues.
A viral video, shared by the Haven 360 Foundation on August 18, 2025, showed armed vigilantes storming a corps members’ lodge, accusing them of being internet fraudsters (“yahoo people”) despite the victims presenting valid NYSC identification cards and uniforms.
In the footage, Jennifer Edema Elohor was beaten, stripped naked, and left covered in blood, subjected to humiliating and sexually degrading threats.
The Anambra State Government condemned the assault as “unacceptable” and confirmed that the operatives involved were arrested and detained pending investigation. The Anambra State Police Command is also investigating the case.
However, the incident has not sparked the expected public outrage, including calls for justice and compensation for the victims, as seen in the recent case of Comfort Emmanson, the unfortunate assault victim at the hands of Ibom Air attendants.
Perhaps since Haven 360 was discreet in sharing the video of the naked girls without revealing cleavages, there are yet to be announcements of compensation from good Nigerian males to the young women who were brutally beaten and sexually humiliated by a band of non-state actors who have had the tacit support and endorsement of the Anambra State Government.
However, more importantly, recently, the amiable Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, set a new trend by taking responsibility for the actions of Vigilante Group members who killed 16 travellers from Northern Nigeria, particularly Kano State, as they were passing through Uromi in Edo State on a supposed hunting trip.
As tempers flared across Northern Nigeria over the Uromi killings, the smart Edo Governor chose the responsible course of action by visiting the people of Kano State, not only to apologise and seek forgiveness on behalf of the Edo people but also to offer significant compensatory payments to the victims’ families. That was a masterstroke in responsible governance.
In Anambra, where young female graduates deployed to the state on a mandatory national youth service were targeted and attacked by a barbaric group of untrained and uneducated village men operating as a state-sanctioned security outfit because the state government could not guarantee security for the people, Nigerians, the NYSC, and the Federal Government must demand accountability from Governor Charles Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State.
Communities across Nigeria have long taken pride in accepting and caring for NYSC members serving the children and women of their communities as medical doctors, school teachers, agricultural extension service providers, etc.
A group of uneducated village men, armed with unrestrained power and intoxicated by illegal local authority, would easily stereotype these upscale NYSC girls serving in their communities as “yahoo yahoo people” because of their relatively urbane lifestyles compared to those of the villagers.
This must be a massive embarrassment to the people of Anambra and a call to review the NYSC Act to ensure the security of Corps members and to blacklist hostile communities and, by extension, some states and their people.
Returning to responsible governance, Governor Soludo must apologise to the NYSC and the Federal Government on behalf of the Anambra people.
Even if the girls were culpable for a reason, the way they were sexually and physically abused is unacceptable by minimum legal standards.
The administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, as part of its duty to protect the well-being of Delta State residents like Jennifer Edema Elohor, must demand accountability on her behalf.
It should also ensure that the investigation reaches a proper conclusion, that the offenders are punished, and that suitable compensation is provided to the victims. The same procedures should be followed for other female corps members who were victims of the brutal assault.
The attorneys general of the states from which the corps members originate and the National Human Rights Commission must offer the necessary legal advice and support to enable the corps members to receive adequate compensation if their rights have indeed been violated by the so-called vigilance group of Anambra State.
In our pursuit to enhance Nigeria’s living standards, we must emphasise individual rights and well-being as the foundation of governance and development.
Frank Tietie, Esq.
Development Lawyer and Media Personality,
Writes from Abuja