By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has joined the voices of condemnation against the brutalization and humiliation of a female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, by members of a local vigilante group known as Udo Ga-Achi and Agụnechemba.
The incident, captured in a video, which has continued to generate buzz across the state and beyond, saw the corps member reportedly stripped and dehumanized by the operatives under circumstances that have been widely described as barbaric and inhumane. The videos and eyewitness accounts of the ordeal have spread across social media, attracting groups and criticisms from groups and individuals, who demanded accountability for the perpetrators.
Reacting through a post on his official social media handle on Tuesday, Obi, who is a native and former Governor of Anambra state, said he felt personally pained and ashamed that such primitive wickedness and savagery could take place in 2025 in a society that ought to have advanced beyond the barbarous acts. He lamented that the victim’s ordeal was not only unlawful and immoral but also a direct assault on collective humanity.
Obi, who said that the victim could have been anyone’s daughter, sister, or even his own, said no society should ever tolerate such abuse, humiliation, and dehumanization of its citizens, least of all the vulnerable and women.
“What happened is not only a violation of law and morality, but also a direct assault on our collective humanity. That young girl could have been anyone’s daughter, sister, or even mine,” he wrote.
Obi further called on Nigerians to awaken their conscience and commit to building a society where justice is swift, compassion is practical, and the dignity of every individual, especially the defenseless and vulnerable, is respected and protected. According to him, anything short of this is an invitation to a collapse of civility and humanity.
He therefore urged security agencies and the Anambra State Government to immediately apprehend and prosecute those behind the crime, stressing that they must be made examples to deter future acts of cruelty.
Beyond punishment, however, he said the tragedy should serve as a turning point for instituting stronger safeguards, policies, and communal values that would protect the weak and restrain the excesses of the powerful.
“Our humanity must always come first. Without it, we are nothing but a people adrift in cruelty,” he concluded.
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Watch the video of the incident HERE
