Joy Owolabi a resident in Nanmwa Junction, Abattoir area, Jos South local government area of Plateau State who was attacked by a yet-to-be-identified officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has revealed that she almost her sight as a result of the attack.
The incident happened a few meters away from the office of the organisation, during a verbal confrontation between the victim and the personnel.
NigeriaCrime.com learned before the attack, that sometime last month, the said personnel came to the betting shop next to the victim’s shop and parked his official motorcycle in front of Mrs.Owolabi’s shop, blocking her entrance and she called his attention to re-park the motorcycle but she was ignored and an argument ensued.
Recounting how the officer pounced on her and flogged her like a common criminal, Owolabi who is still receiving treatment at the hospital said on Friday, said, “I was in my shop on the 2nd of September, 2022, at about noon, I saw two men in uniform, they were from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, they rode into my shop. One stood by the roadside and the second one came to the entrance of my shop.
“They came with an official motorcycle, when the man parked, blocking the entrance of my shop, I went and met him and said please, help me re-park this motorcycle because the way you parked, I cannot enter the shop.
“My neighbour who is the Naijabet Manager also came out and saw the way the man parked the motorcycle; he started pleading with the man to re-park it. As we were talking, the man punched me in my left eye and I fell to the ground.
“As I was trying to stand up, he punched me in the second eye. He removed the wire and started flogging me. They came in armed so people were afraid of coming to my rescue and when this thing was going on, people were just watching.
“After flogging me, the two of them left with the motorcycle. When they left, I locked my shop and went to their office which is not far from my shop to report.”
At the time of this report, the victim was still receiving treatment at a hospital in Jos as she is feeling severe pains all over her body.
It was also gathered that the victim was asked to return on Monday as all personnel on a motorcycle would be present for her to “identify” who assaulted her.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC has apologised to the family of Mrs. Joy Owolabi, the woman who was assaulted by a staff of the Corps in Jos, and assured them that the matter would not be swept under the carpet as decisive action will be taken against the culprit.
The Command in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, PRO DSC Madaki Longbit noted, “The attention of Plateau State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has been drawn to a publication in the media about an unfortunate and regrettable incident of assault on one Mrs. Joy Owolabi, a shop owner around the Nanmwa Junction of Abattoir in Jos.
Worried by this unfortunate incident, the State Commandant, Alexander Barunde, who described the incident as barbaric, unfortunate, regrettable, and uncivilized has since directed a full investigation into the matter to ascertain the real identity of the suspect. The State Commandant assures the public that he would invoke the internal disciplinary mechanism of the Corps to deal with the officer involved in this barbaric act against a harmless and helpless woman.
“He condemned the act and wondered why an officer of the Command would condescend to the point of inflicting bodily harm on a woman under any circumstances.”