The lawyer representing some of the National Youth Service Corps members assaulted by local vigilantes in Anambra State, Cyrus Onu, has accused the security outfit of trying to silence the victims with a cash payoff.
A viral video from Tuesday showed armed operatives of the security outfit, “Operation Udo-ga-achi,” assaulting the corps members in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area.
The victims, who included Jennifer Edema Elohor, Greatness Oyeh, and Anighoro Godspower, were reportedly beaten, and Jennifer was stripped naked.
Read Also: Corps Member Assaulted By Vigilantes In Anambra Speaks On Incident
Onu claimed that a leader of the vigilante group, in the presence of an NYSC Local Government Inspector (LGI), offered the victims money, which was labeled as “compensation and transportation,” but was in fact “hush money” aimed at silencing them.
The lawyer detailed the amounts, saying, “Six of them (victims) were given N10,000, one of them was given N25,000 cash and another N25,000 transfer, and lastly, Jennifer was given N100,000, all in an effort to ensure that they (victims) do not talk about it.” He added, “They tagged the N10,000 as compensation and transport fare, but in actual truth, it was hush money because they told them not to say anything again about the incident otherwise their lives depend on it and other kinds of subtle threats.”
Onu also demanded ₦1bn in compensation for “gross violation of the victims’ rights, physical harm, and psychological trauma inflicted upon them.”
Furthermore, Onu accused the state police command of trying to sweep the case under the carpet, alleging that one of the victims sent the video to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, who responded with, “I will get back to you,” and did not act until the issue became public.
However, the PPRO denied the allegations, insisting that the police did not try to bury the case and that the investigation was temporarily stalled by Jennifer’s initial unavailability. He assured that “justice would be served.”
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