Life is no longer the same for 17-year-old Linda. In her community in Saminaka, Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, being gang-raped is almost the same as being stricken with a deadly and contagious disease.
When on April 5, Linda became the victim of the ravenous instincts of six teenage rapists, her life came crashing down and she became a recluse in her community, whom friends no longer speak to or play with.
The young girl said she did not think she would recover from the shock of the incident anytime soon.
Reminiscing about the incident alone was not an easy task for the teenager who is a senior secondary school year one student. But she summoned the courage to narrate the incident that led to the sexual assault that has left her dejected and rejected in her community.
According to her, at
noon on April 5, 2016, her step-mother directed her to go and buy fresh vegetable from a nearby farm for lunch.
Linda said she and a cousin of hers named Rahila, set out for the farm where they were accosted by the six suspects, whom she believed were from another community, Ungwan Jamare. They told the girls they were the ones who would sell the vegetable.
The girl said, “They said we should allow them to bathe in a nearby stream first and that they would sell us the vegetable later. We said no, that they could sell us the vegetable and bathe later.
“We did not suspect that they had any bad plans. Before we knew what was going on, the boys had grabbed us and started to touch us. My cousin managed to escape to a safe distance.
“While they were dragging me here and there, my dress tore and the boys pushed me into the stream. I was begging them to let me go but they were all dragging me. Later, they pinned me down and tore my remaining clothes off. I was confused. I thought it was all a dream.
“I struggled with them and screamed but they overpowered me. One of the boys held my neck. I could not breathe. Another covered my mouth so that I could not even shout. I wrestled with them as they struggled. But I had become too weak. They then took turns to rape me in the water.”
The rapists were later identified as Abubakar Abdul Danjuma, 18, Jamilu Mohammed (14), Shamsideen Mohammed (20), Garba Hamisu, (13), Isah Dauda (17), and Abdul Rasheed Dahiru (17).
“I still tried to break free from them and ran away but two of the boys chased after me and when they caught me, one raped me again. At this point, I could not walk. My cousin, who witnessed the entire incident, had gone to alert elders in the community, the boys then ran away. I was already tired at this point, I told them that whatever they wanted to do, even if they wanted to kill me, they should do it. I was no longer afraid of death.”
Saturday PUNCH learnt that Linda’s cousin, Rahila, was able to race home and she alerted a community elder, identified as Baba Isah, who accompanied her to the scene of the incident. The man reportedly grabbed one of the boys he found at the scene.
The community vigilante men were able to round up other boys who fled. One of the boys reportedly turned himself in to the police. He was able to identify other boys who took part in the rape.
Linda said before the incident, she had never seen the boys before. She was later taken to the hospital where series of tests were carried out on her.
Unfortunately for the teenager, the trauma has changed her life.
“Whenever I think about what happened to me, I feel sad and pained because I can no longer walk freely in the community. People avoid talking to me now in the community. I have become like a leper among my family and people who know me,” she said.
Linda said that she was more annoyed because the families of her rapists have been putting pressure on her parents to let the matter go.
At 17, Linda’s parents would be planning her marriage soon but that is one of the reaso
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