Victor EzejaFORMER Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah, has bemoaned the action of villagers in Aguleri, Anambra State who stripped a woman naked over the death of her husband which happened while they were having sex.
A video that went viral showed a woman being paraded naked round Aguleri town by people suspected to be relatives of the man, with some accusing her of sexing the man to death.
The man was said to have died of cardiac arrest during the sex romp, but the husband relatives accused her of sexually killing the man, hence the punishment of stripping and dragging her naked round the town.
Senator Oduah who wrote on her official Facebook wall on Sunday evening, roundly condemned the action by the villagers, describing it as barbaric.
She expressed shock, stating that she could not imagine that such action still exists in today’s world with established laws.
She said, “My attention has just been drawn to a most disheartening video clip currently doing the rounds on social media, of a young woman being publicly paraded naked under the pretext of being directly responsible for the death of her husband.
“To say that I am shocked, petrified and angry is to put it mildly for I cannot for the life of me imagine that something as backward and despicable as what was showcased in those clips, still exists in today’s world where there are established lawful channels for seeking redress.”
The senator representing Anambra North Senatorial district in the Senate, noted that “no matter how grievous an alleged crime is, the law is there for redress”, not for people to embark on what could best be described as jungle justice.
“What we saw in those clips is nothing short of barbaric, inhumane and evil, which should be condemned by all decent human beings that have the fear of God in them.
“I am distraught and do not take kindly to maltreatment of any kind, let alone, that meted on a widow who should and must be protected,” Oduah wrote.
Oduah who said she has spoken with the poor widow and discovered that she is really traumatised and physically abused, disclosed her intention to give the woman good medical care and thereafter, enrol her in skill acquisition programmes to become empowered.
“I also intend to take this widow under my wings by first ensuring that she gets proper medical attention, then enrol her under one of our numerous skill acquisition programmes after which, we will ensure that she is provided with funds for her learned trade.
“Our team is currently on ground putting things in place to ensure she’s taken to the hospital as soon as we get the nod of the family who understandably, are still quite shocked as a result of the unfortunate incident.
“I firmly believe that this terrible thing would not have happened to her if she was educated and I intend to have a sit down with her to find out the extent of her educational journey and if she is willing to go to school.
“I have also alerted all relevant security agencies with a view to getting to the root of this matter and I will ensure that this doesn’t get swept under the carpet.
“Women should be protected and I fail to see the correlation between a spouse’s death and whatever allegations peddled against this young woman who incidentally, the law accords innocence until proven guilty.
“May God save Humanity from the debilitating scourge of Ignorance and may our women, especially the widows amongst us, be seen as human beings to be protected and treated with kindness, humanness and love,” Oduah added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
