Female ‘NYSC member’ beaten, stripped over alleged murder

A female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member in Akwa Ibom State was on Sunday beaten and stripped in Uyo by a mob which accused her of killing a man she reportedly spent a night with.

The woman, identified as Odume Paschaline, said to be a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was naked in a video as she was being beaten and cursed by some men who appeared to be from the community where the incident occurred.

The video, sent to PREMIUM TIMES via WhatsApp, was recorded by a man who witnessed the mob action.

The arrival of armed police officers at the scene prevented the mob from lynching the woman who was later driven out of the place in a police truck.

Photos showed the murder victim, identified simply as Akwaowo, lying in a pool of blood inside his room.

A crowd gathered around the community for several hours, till late in evening, discussing the incident.

A source, who said he spoke with the corps member at the police custody, said she claimed the slain man “tried to rape her and that she attacked him in self-defence.”

“She went to the boy’s house. If it were her house, it would have been a better case (for her),” the source said.

Ms Paschaline on her Facebook page described herself as a “nice, good at heart” person, but “with zero tolerance to (for) bullshit”.

She is from Udi and lived in Enugu State before her deployment for the NYSC programme, according to her profile on the social media site.

She wore a NYSC uniform in a December 17 photo she posted on Facebook.

Meanwhile, the NYSC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom State, Linus Edor, said he could not speak on the case for now until he is able to confirm Ms Paschaline’s identity as a corps member.

The police spokesperson in the state, Odiko MacDon, told PREMIUM TIMES, Sunday night, he was not aware of the incident.