The National Youth Service Corps has denied reports that 21 female corps members were raped during a robbery on Wednesday.
The scheme confirmed that, contrary to the reports, no physical harm was inflicted on them, and no corps member was raped.
In a statement obtained by journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Chinyere Ekwe, the Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of NYSC, clarified the matter.
She was quoted as saying, “In the said story making the rounds, it was alleged that gunmen attacked, raped, robbed and dispossessed Corps Members of their valuables at Udo Ekong Ekwere Street, off Information Drive, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where they reside.
“To put the unfortunate incident in proper perspective, the State Coordinator, NYSC Akwa Ibom State, Chinyere Ekwe in the company of the State Police Commissioner, Olatoye Durosinmi, visited the Corps Members for an on-the-spot assessment.
“While there, it was confirmed that 21 corps members occupy the said property. The interaction with the corps members further revealed that an attack on them was actually carried out by thieves at about 1 am this morning.
“In the process, the invaders took their valuables including phones, laptops and some cash. They confirmed that no bodily harm was meted on them, and no corps member was raped.”
Violent attacks are not only quotidian in the Northern part of the country; the South also suffer from activities of hoodlums and terrorist organisations like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the Southeast.