NSCDC official brutalises sisters over boyfriends, says it’s family affair

An official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, identified as Ezekiel, has been accused of brutalising his sisters for having boyfriends. Ezekiel was said to have visited his siblings, Amarachi and Chidinma, at their house in the Kuje area of Abuja and demanded the former’s phone. Amarachi, a microbiology student at the University of Abuja, reportedly refused to release her phone to him. Ezekiel was said to have flogged her with a stick and a cable, causing her bodily injuries. Chidinma claims to be 25 years old, while Amarachi says she is 19. They said their brother was always going through their phones and got furious anytime he saw a chat from their male friends. Chidinma said her brother once flogged her till she passed out after accusing her of sleeping around. “He started beating her repeatedly and hit her head against the wall. He dragged her to the kitchen and used our turning stick on her. I couldn’t bear it. My sister was on her menstruation that day and was weak before the entire scenario. I screamed for help; it was at that point our neighbours came to plead on her behalf. Our neighbours intervened and persuaded my sister to give the phone to my brother. Chidinma said her brother was invited to the State Criminal Investigation Department after she and her sister lodged a report at the gender unit, adding that he did not show up. Ezekiel said, “First of all, the girl in question is 16 years old; she was flogged in front of her mum; the second is 22, not 25 years old. Contacting me to say my position will escalate the issue. You don’t take family matters to the media. If these girls are your younger sisters you will not tolerate what they are doing. Is there evidence that I gave them the scars on their bodies? I met the police officers later in the night. You can ask them at the SCID.” The Federal Capital Territory Police Command Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the matter.