In November 2012, Miss Mercy Okpithe reported
to the Batch ‘C’ Orientation Camp of the National
Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Anambra State.
Her joy knew no bounds, as she looked forward to
the opportunity to serve Nigeria for one year.
The 2011 graduate of Public Administration from
the Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo State,
voluntarily joined the Dance Troupe on the camp.
Like Janet Jackson in her heyday, she displayed a
high level of dexterity as she moved her feet and
body rhythmically to music. After the camping
exercise, she was posted to the Anambra South
Local Government area, and she continued as a
member of the Dance Troupe. But little did Mercy
know that four months later, fate would have no
mercy on her.
Mercy, it was gathered, was severely beaten up
by the Camp Commandant at the NYSC
Orientation Camp, one Captain S.O. Beke, about
11:00p.m on Monday, March 18, this year. She
allegedly fainted and was rushed to the camp
clinic. The following day, she was transferred to
the Anambra State University Teaching Hospital,
Awka. At the hospital, she was diagnosed with
dislocation of coccyx, a small triangular bone at
the base of the spinal column.
The hospital further referred her to the National
Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, for special
attention. It was gathered that she might be
flown abroad for surgery.
But what could have led to the alleged
brutalisation? This correspondent visited Mercy in
her Lagos home. As she lay down on a couch in
their living room, the young lady writhed in pains,
even as she struggled to answer the reporter’s
questions. Her words: “When the Batch A corps
members were in the Orientation Camp in March,
this year, the NYSC officials invited members of
the Dance Troupe to the camp to teach the new
corps members how to dance. We got to the
camp in the evening of Sunday, March 17.
We were 15 all together; 11 boys and four girls.
“We girls were not meant to stay together in the
same room with the boys. But we had to because
there was no vacant room. The following morning,
the NYSC State Coordinator gave a directive that
a separate room should be given to the girls. But
the officials could not find a vacant room for us.
So, they put us in one of the rooms occupied by
some Batch ‘A’ female corps members. “We took
two mattresses each to the place. There were no
bunks. So, we spread the mattresses on the
ground. Thereafter, the other three girls slept but
I was still awake. I was listening to music on my
phone, using an earpiece.
“Around 11:00p.m., some soldiers came into the
room. They were both males and females. I felt it
was a normal thing because they did the same
thing when I was in the camp for orientation
exercise in November 2012. Then, I noticed that
a female soldier was arguing with one of my
friends, Ifedayo Fakehinde.
Then, the female soldier forcefully removed one of
the mattresses which she slept on. Ifedayo
sought to know her offence and the soldier hit
her. I quickly rose up and caught her as she was
falling. Otherwise, she would have hit her head
against the wall. But she sprained her hand. “The
incident caused a scene. Many corps members
came out and argued with the soldiers. As this
was going on, Ifedayo was crying. We calmed her
down.
Then, the NYSC Schedule Officer came around.
He sought to know what happened. As I was
explaining what I knew about the incident to him,
I heard the voice of the Camp Commandant
telling all the corps members to go inside. “Before
I finished my explanation, the commandant came
and pushed me. I sought to know why he pushed
me. But he pushed me again.
I told him to stop pushing me because he could
not push his sister like that. But he continued
until he pushed me to the wall. Then, he kicked
me from the ground and I hit the ground with my
back. I couldn’t move. Then, I heard other
soldiers saying ‘die, die, die’ till I passed out.”
As gathered, the Schedule Officer ran probably to
call the State Coordinator, Mrs. I.B. Ekpe, when
the commandant was purportedly beating the
corps member. But Mercy woke up at the camp
clinic the following morning with excruciating
pains. Later that day, she was transferred to the
Anambra State University Teaching Hospital,
Awka. Mr. Solomon Okpithe, Mercy’s father, said
an official of the NYSC called him on phone in the
afternoon of Tuesday, March 19, telling him that
Mercy was involved in an accident and that he
should come to Awka immediately.
The official, he disclosed, told him to come with
somebody who would stay in the teaching
hospital to take care of Mercy. When he got to the
hospital with his wife at about 12:30p.m the
following day, they were shocked to hear that she
was brutalised by the camp commandant.
Okpithe said the first thing that came to his mind
was how to save his daughter’s life. He sought to
see the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the
teaching hospital but could not see him until
about 7:00p.m when he came out from the
theatre.
“I asked the CMD about my daughter’s condition,
but he said the hospital could not handle it and
he would refer her to Enugu. I told him that I was
from Lagos and asked if he could refer her to any
hospital in Lagos. Then, he said he would refer
her to Igbobi. Immediately, he instructed the
doctor that was in charge to write the letter.
“On Thursday morning, we were at Igbobi. The
doctors at the hospital tried but the sad thing is
that they told us they could not handle it too.
They said it’s not just an orthopaedic case but
something that has to do with the spine. They
treated her and asked us to take her home. Then,
they gave an appointment,” he said.
On the next appointment day, according to
Okpithe, the hospital said the first option, which
was the treatment by orthopaedic doctors, had
failed. “They said they were taking another option
now and if it fails, the third option would be a
surgery.” Okpithe, who has since been
responsible for his daughter’s hospital bills,
disclosed that Mrs. Ekpe promised the family that
NYSC would reinburse whatever amount spent on
the treatment, adding that Ekpe said she had
informed the national secretariat of NYSC in Abuja
about the development and had also written a
letter to the NYSC in Lagos State about the
incident.
“I have received calls from one Mrs. Daniel from
the NYSC Office, Lagos, telling me I should accept
their sympathy on my daughter. But on the other
hand, Mrs Ekpe never stated the cause of the
dislocation. I know she’s doing that to protect the
officer.” Okpithe, an engineer, urged the Chief of
Army Staff to ensure proper reform of the army,
especially those in charge of NYSC.
He also advised the Federal Government to
provide necessary items for corps members on
the camp. The issue of inadequate mattresses, he
said, caused the problem. When contacted on
phone to react to the claims, Captain Beke
neither confirmed nor denied the incident.
He only asked if the story would be published in
Daily Sun, and when the reporter answered in the
affirmative, the officer paused and said he would
call back. But he never did. Further efforts to
reach him failed as the phone was switched off.
When the reporter was eventually through to
him, Captain Beke directed the correspondent to
contact NYSC for any comment. “I am not NYSC,”
he asserted.
[Source: Daily Sun]