Human rights lawyer and Indigenous People of Biafra counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has condemned the brutal assault on Miss Jennifer Elohor, a female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving in Oba, Idemili South LGA of Anambra State, calling it a national shame and an extreme example of lawlessness. In a statement released on Thursday, Ejiofor described the attack as not only a deeply personal tragedy for Elohor but also a direct affront to the NYSC, a program established to promote unity, civic responsibility, and national service. He emphasized that no imaginable offense could justify stripping an unarmed young woman naked in her own Corps Lodge, a place meant to serve as a safe haven, not a theatre of humiliation.
Ejiofor referred to a disturbing video clip that circulated online, showing Elohor being dehumanized by individuals whose duty under Anambra State law was to protect her. “Instead of being shielded, she was tormented,” he said. “The footage is deeply distressing, it pains the heart and enrages the conscience. What offense could ever warrant such brutality?” He warned that the incident goes beyond an isolated case, reflecting a collapse of law and order and threatening the integrity of the NYSC program itself.
While Ejiofor expressed support for properly structured and trained local vigilante groups as a tool for community security, he stressed that recruitment, training, and oversight must be thorough, professional, and humane. The actions displayed in the video, he said, were not the conduct of disciplined security personnel but the raw cruelty of criminals masquerading as authority. He acknowledged reports, still pending full verification, that Governor Chukwuma Soludo may have arrested or dismissed the perpetrators, but he stressed that true justice requires that those responsible face the full weight of the law, warning that anything less could embolden further abuses.
Ejiofor also urged the Anambra State government to ensure that support for Elohor goes beyond financial compensation. She must have access to comprehensive post-trauma counseling, medical care, and rehabilitation, as no young woman should be left to bear the physical and psychological scars of such an ordeal alone. He further recommended that the Udo-ga-Achi security outfit undergo routine training and oversight to prevent politicization and abuse, and called for the establishment of an independent panel of credible advisers to periodically review the operations of local security groups in the state.
Concluding his statement, Ejiofor said, “Security is not merely the absence of crime; it is the presence of trust, dignity, and justice. When those entrusted with protection become agents of humiliation, the very foundation of our society is shaken. As a nation, we must rise and declare: Never again.”