Owerri Women Protest Alleged Rape By Herdsmen

Apparently worried by the increasing cases of rape of old women and girls by herdsmen in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, aggrieved women, most of them victims from Irete community, yesterday blocked the Owerri/Onitsha express way to protest the alleged indifference of the authorities to the plight of the women.

The angry women called on the state government and security agencies to take immediate action that would put an end to the unwholesome practice. The spokesperson of the women, Lady Gloria Chukwumezie, noted that they were compelled to embark on the protest to register their anger and to seek an end to the dehumanizing act.

She stated that several women from the community had been raped, manhandled and beaten up by the herdsmen while working in their farms, adding that a similar incident occurred few days ago when some women who went to their farmlands were severely raped by the same people.

The protest, which started early in the morning, lasted for hours, resulted in heavy traffic gridlock. It took the efforts of armed policemen from the state police command disperse the women.

The chairman of the transition committee of the local government area, Albert Okenwa, blamed the women for carrying out the protest against his instruction, stating that he had appealed to them not to embark on the protest. When contacted, the Police Public Relation Officer of the command, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, who confirmed the presence of armed policemen at the scene, said the policemen were drafted to stop the women from taking the laws into their hands.