RE: Anambra Fathers Raped their Daughters more during Lockdown" (STATING THE FACTS)

Our attention was drawn to media reports featured by certain media outlets between 8th to 10th of May with the headline "Anambra Fathers raped their daughters more during Lockdown"

According to the report(s), it was allegedly claimed that the Director of Child Welfare Services in Anambra State's Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Children and Social Welfare, Mrs. Nkechi Anazodo made the outrageous statements during the United Nations Children’s Fund supported launch of integrated child protection community sensitization campaign held in Awka North Local Government Area.

We decided to swing into action by contacting Mrs. Anazodo and we got her to verify the veracity of the report. In a phone call made by members of the Anambra State Online Media, she denied making such comments.

"I never said that Anambra Fathers raped their daughters during the lockdown. I simply stated that it was a nationwide occurrence and i was only going to participate on a 10 day sensitization programme to guard against such occurrences happening in our state in case such a scenario is going to take place."[/i]she said.

Mrs Anazado implied that in her years as Director of Child Welfare Services, there had been 32 cases of rape before the lockdown came into play but the rape incidences though they were in the state had nothing to do with fathers raping their daughters in Anambra. She further stated that most of those rape incidences were perpetrated by "aliens" from other parts of the country.

[i]"Anyone telling you i said that Anambra fathers raped their daughters during the lockdown is a blatant liar. You know you journalists can concoct stories sometimes", she retorted.

It should be recalled that during the lockdown which affected some selected states in the country, Anambra State had some level of free movement and business activities was never hindered rather slowed down.

Anambra State which is mainly known as a major commercial nerve in the country made up of indigenes who are mainly business oriented and agrarians still kept themselves engaged in one form of business activity or the other.

Secondly, the whole of Igboland in general and Anambra in particular have very stringent cultural ethics and norms in which some certain actions are seen as a taboo and abomination of which incest is totally frowned at.

With the current trend of rape which is being reported all over the media which seems to come in the heels of the Uwaila Omozuwa rape incident, we feel that this fake and calamitous report was cooked up by troublemakers who lack the ethics of proper and investigative journalism just to raise unnecessary dust, trend, seek for attention and tarnish the good name of our dear state.

So many rape reports where physical arrests have been made and documented was reported in "some certain parts" of the country where incestuous rape, child rape and even animal rape (bestiality) is said to be endemic with solid proof of the arrest of the perpetrators and even imprisonment of one of them who was given a 2 year sentence that sparked an outcry among Nigerians with the argument that 2 years was too lenient for such a crime.

In this vein, we seek to ask the bearers of this fake report to bring to our notice how many of "these fathers" in Anambra were apprehended, arrested, paraded in front of journalists and appeared in court as it was obtained in the previous rape cases reported and "under-reported" in some other parts of the country?

We the Anambra State Online Media seek to use this medium to inform the members of the public to disregard the said report as it is totally untrue in every ramification.

Signed,

MEZIE OBIDIGBO

For ANSOM (Anambra State Media Online)

SOURCE: https://web.facebook.com/AnambraOnline/posts/2988313117913603

When that story made headlines, i knew it was nothing but a big lie by the brownroofers to tarnish the image of Anambra people.

Thank God the truth has been revealed!