The police in Enugu State on Sunday said they have commenced investigation into allegations of gang rapes at a musical concert featuring Afro pop star, Chinedu Okoli, aka Flavour, at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, on Saturday.
PUNCH Metro gathered that several ladies were allegedly raped during the concert, which attracted a large crowd.
Okpara Square, venue of the event which was reportedly sponsored by the Enugu State Government, could not contain the number of music fans who turned out for the live show.
A major reason for the large turnout, our correspondents learnt, was the free entry for residents.
Also, Flavour, the major attraction of the show, grew up in Enugu, where he has a large fan base.
One of our correspondents, who made a brief stop at the concert, observed that several youths openly smoke hemp during the event, despite the presence of a large number of policemen and other security agents who were deployed in the Square.
It was also observed that some of the youths attempted to forcefully dance with some ladies, who resisted the them.
Reports later emerged that some ladies were allegedly sexually harrassed and raped in the early hours of Sunday.
A Twitter user, with the alias, Naturize, in a series of tweets, alleged that many girls were gang-raped.
She said, “So, your favourite celebrity decided to give back to the community, made his concert free, but his fans (most) present at the Square, started to rape girls like it’s part of the script.
“They not only raped girls, but went in turns, protected the rapists from security agents and started to play with the victims’ undies! Please, someone tell me this is Sodom & Gomorrah.
“Never seen or heard of rape being this glorified. Truth is, if your community is filled with toxic people, don’t live in denial; fix your problem even if it means not putting up a show. Yes, please don’t, moreso, don’t make it worse!
“Before you come here to ask what the girls wore (which just shows your low IQ), girls on jeans were raped! These boys came with X-Men claws. They ripped jeans like it was a wet piece of paper, still had the nerves to wear condoms, have an erect and rape a lady till she bled.
“They had their governor on seat; over 100 Force men on standby; bouncers were there too, but those retarded fools still found a way to leave girls naked. How do you rape a girl in front of her boyfriend? Are you normal? They beat and tossed boyfriends off! They bought condoms! I swear, those guys are far from normal!
“People had to donate clothes to cover victims at intervals! It was that bad! Thought they said sex is cheap, so please, walk down the street and buy it cheap or take it free; don’t rape girls, don’t ever do it!”
She blamed the incident on the free entry, saying she would not visit the state again.
Another attendee of the concert, Adedotun, whom Naturalize confirmed was also at the event, vowed not to return to the state after the incident.
“I’m leaving Enugu this morning (Sunday)! What I saw yesterday (Saturday) was a country with more youthful problem than we can imagine! Yesterday, the amount of girls that were sexually harassed and raped at the concert was heavy! Concert became a rescue operation for innocent girls. Vile men!” he tweeted.
He absolved Flavour of blame, saying the crowd was uncontrollable.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement on Sunday, said the police were investigating a case of alleged attempted rape during the musical show.
The police spokesman said a suspect was in custody for attempting to rape a lady at the concert.
He said, “The Enugu State Police Command, through its operatives at the Independence Layout Division, has commenced investigations into the alleged conduct of some people, ranging from attempt to gang rape a victim, as well as other offences, during a musical concert at the Michael Okpara Square.
“One person, who is already helping operatives in their investigation, has been nabbed for his alleged role in the attempt to gang rape a victim at the Square yesterday during the musical concert of a popular Nigerian musician.”
He added that three others were arrested for allegedly stealing mobile phones during the event.
“Those arrested will be made to face the music in line with various provisions and specifications of the law after investigations,” he added.
A member of Flavour’s team cut off our correspondent’s telephone call after he heard the allegation.
