By Izunna Okafor, Awka
A commercial motorcycle rider identified as John Peter has been apprehended after he was caught in the act with another man’s pregnant wife in Enugwu-Agidi, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State.
According to a video currently trending on social media, Peter, who hails from Rivers State but resides in Enugwu-Agidi, was reportedly caught pants down as he was digging it out raw with the young pregnant woman inside his apartment after security operatives stormed the scene following a tip-off.
During interrogation, Peter admitted to inviting the young woman over after she contacted him, complaining of hunger and lack of financial support. According to him, he told her he could not visit her but asked her to come to his place, where he proposed to give her money in exchange for sex. This, the woman admitted to have concurred with, and ‘opened up’, leading to the incident that resulted in his arrest. The woman, who claimed to be a school teacher, also confessed that she is 7-month pregnant for her husband.
When questioned about his habit of engaging in extramarital affairs despite having a wife whom he said lives in Rivers State, Peter justified his actions by saying that he does not enjoy being with women who are above 20 years of age.
The story and situation, however, took a more alarming turn when sources familiar with the suspect alleged that he is HIV-positive and has been deliberately spreading the virus. He was also accused of engaging in unprotected sexual activities with multiple women, including married women, widows, young ladies, and even minors.
According to a voiceover that accompanies the video, the suspect was to be handed over to the security agencies in the state for further investigation and necessary actions.
A concerned citizen of the community, in an interaction with this reporter, however, said that the residents of the community and its environs had been gripped with fear since the incident over suspicion that the suspect may have infected numerous unsuspecting women and young girls with the virus. He further called on the Anambra health authorities to conduct an urgent medical assessment to determine the extent of potential exposure and provide necessary intervention for those who may have had contact with the randy suspect.
When contacted on Tuesday by this reporter, the Programme Manager, Anambra State AIDS Control Agency (ANSACA), Mr. Johnbosco Ementa, said the agency swung into action immediately it came across the video on social media.
While condemning the unprofessional approach of the people who made such video and also spread it on social media, the ANSACA Programme Manager also reacted to the allegations that the suspect knew that he’s HIV-positive and has deliberately been spreading it. He described such act as a public health nuisance and serious crime punishable by the law, if true.
He further highlighted some of the steps so far taken by the agency in response to the public health aspect of the incident since its occurrence.
According to him, he has mobilized his staff to the residences of the suspect and the pregnant woman on several occasions since after the incident as part of the agency’s public health intervention, but they were nowhere to be found, while all efforts to see them proved abortive. He added that he eventually got Peter’s phone number, contacted him, discussed and scheduled appointments with him for necessary interventions, counselling, and contact tracing, which he (Peter) never honoured till date.
“He told me ‘Oga, this people don cast me’” Ementa said, adding that Peter went to the extent of blocking his phone number on Sunday after as he continued to reach out to him to persuade him to accept ANSACA’s intervention.
These notwithstanding, the ANSACA Programme Manager said the agency is still not relenting in its efforts to provide public health intervention in response to the incident. He also revealed that the agency would commence a community intervention in the area on Thursday through Friday this week, in the best interest of the public.
Highlighting some of the interventional efforts and operational strategies of ANSACA, Mr. Ementa, who reminded the people that HIV is not a death sentence, further used the opportunity to advise members of the public to stop stigmatization and to stop taking the laws into their hands when it comes to such a serious issue as that, but to always consult the appropriate authority for appropriate intervention, given the potential adverse effects of approaching it the wrong way.
