However, a close family source, who did not want to be identified for fear of stigmatisation, said Ibiene was attacked by what he described as ‘spiritual arrows’ in 2009.
The neighbour raised the alarm and before he could escape, he was apprehended.
Facing two counts of assault and having canal knowledge of the victim and impregnating her, the accused claimed not to have known that Shakirat was mentally-ill. “On 8th December, 50 years old Sufiyanu Kamala lured a 25-year-old mentally-ill woman into his farmland. He had multiple carnal knowledge of her and impregnated her,” DSP Isah said
Also, in November 2019, in Nembe Ogbolomabiri town, Brass LGA of Bayelsa State, a mentally-ill woman gave birth to a baby boy. The Abuja-based children’s home said the three babies were delivered at different times by the woman. She revealed that the woman was abandoned by her family members after she became mentally ill, exposing her to dangers on the streets which eventually led to her getting pregnant thrice.The third child has been reportedly taken away by the social welfare office of the nation’s capital.
“The mentally deranged woman traced her kids to our home. So, whenever she came, we allowed her in and bring them out and they sit around her,” she added.Mental illness in Nigeria Obindo, who is also the Chairman, Faculty of Psychiatry, West African College of Physicians, Nigeria chapter, noted that mental healthcare was in a ‘sorry state’ in the country given that only 10 per cent of the 60 million had access to care.
Some left to find work in other countries, some moved to private hospitals, while others simply quit. Many of these native healers are freelance operators; others belong to the Nigerian Association of Medical Herbalists. “On a number of occasions, I have myself seen manacled patients being led through the streets by these native healers, but I had never before entered any of their establishments. But neither of the two I visited in Abeokuta, home to West Africa’s most famous neuro-psychiatric hospital, were the dens of horror I had imagined,” the writer noted.
One man claimed he ‘collected’ lunatics ‘as a humanitarian job which I have to render . . . my fellow human beings’. He added that he refrained from sleeping with any of them because ‘it is sinful to do that’, but that whenever he felt the urge, he would go to a nearby hotel, ‘cool myself down with two bottles of stout, a stick of cigarette and make love to one of the prostitutes’.reported a case in 1998, involving a councillor in Owo in Ondo State, who ‘prostrated before the elders for forgiveness’ after confessing to have impregnated a well-known mentally-ill woman in the town known simply as Tola.
It is also becoming a trend for some ‘area boys’ to gang-rape a mentally-ill woman on the street, leaving her for dead. “If one is not careful, sleeping with them would even cause a ‘transfer’ of those ‘dark bodies’ to the person in question,” she said. According to a psychologist, Mr Usen Essien, any man who sleeps with a mentally-unstable woman ‘needs help’.
Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NIA Refutes Report Ex-DG Reinstated By Appeal CourtThe NIA’s legal department however said the substance of the case before the court was yet to be decided.
Read more »
Police Move To Re-arrest Nnamdi Emeh, Nigerian Who Exposed Organ Trafficking Ring In Anambra Command, After Likely Release On Bail Monday | Sahara ReportersNnamdi Emeh, who exposed an organ trafficking ring in Anambra police command, will likely be released on bail on Monday, SaharaReporters has learnt. However, it was also learnt that the police had finalised plans to rearrest Emeh as soon as he was released on bail. SaharaReporters earlier reported that 26-year-old Emeh, a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and an IT consultant to the Anambra State Police Command had been in detention since March 3, 2023.
Read more »
Court Sentences Impersonator Of US Citizen To Clean Premises Of Anti-Graft Agency, EFCC In Abuja | Sahara ReportersA High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered an internet fraudster, Okwo Mark, to clean the premises of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for three days for fraud. The EFCC had accused Mark of pretending to be Stella Coleman, an American citizen, working as an FBI agent. The suspect pleaded guilty to the charge and begged the court for leniency, PM News Nigeria reports. However, Justice Aliyu Shafa while delivering judgment sentenced Mark to three months imprisonment or to pay a fine of N50,000.
Read more »
Defining National Security And National Defense: Evaluating The Appointment Of Nuhu Ribadu, A Retired Police Officer, As National Security Adviser | Sahara ReportersIn a recent high-profile television interview on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, Major General IBM Haruna expressed strong criticism towards the appointment of a retired police officer as the National Security Adviser. However, it is crucial to note that General Haruna's arguments blur the distinction between national security and national defense. Furthermore, his use of the term 'breach of security' in relation to the appointment raises the need for a clear understanding of these terms before engaging in a counterargument.
Read more »
Lagos CJ tasks judges, lawyers on sanctity of legal profession | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World NewsChief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, has expressed concern over the conduct of some lawyers in court. He, however, urged judges and lawyers to protect the sanctity of the legal profession in the country.
Read more »
Lagos govt plans to empower womenThe Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation says it is committed to programmes and policy geared towards women empowerment.
Read more »