Rape of Men, Under Reported Sexual Abuse

Odimegwu Onwumere

Male rape cases have not graced the headlines they are supposed to in the media due to the male victims hardly discuss their ordeal in the hands of their male or female rapists. This is because of religious and cultural backgrounds that see such act as a taboo.

But whether the male rape victims who are majority young boys talk about it or not, the males in Nigeria are being raped by either their fellow men or women on a daily basis.

In April 2016, a man whose name was given as S. Ude, 35, from Amuzu community, Amasiri, Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was reportedly arrested for raping a 10-year-old boy, V. Agha.

Ude lured the later to join him to farm, where he carried out the act. Police spokesman, ASP George Okafor in the area, confirmed the incident to newsmen.

Okafor said that the suspect had been arrested, after Agha’s testimony to the father that Ude raped him through the anus.

“By the time we conclude with the necessary investigation, get the medical report together as well as other necessary facts, we will send the suspect to court and ensure that the law takes it course,” the police source told newsmen.

Nigerians stood still on February 23, 2016, when Lagos State Police Command announced that they have arrested a 34-year-old trader, Mallam Isiaka, for supposedly raping a nine-year-old boy in the Iju part of the state.

Christopher was given as the name of Mallam Isiaka’s rape victim. He was a primary 1 pupil, living with the parents on Coker Alhaja Street, Old Akute Road, Iju.

Christopher ostensibly said that he was raped through the anus by his victimiser, Isiaka, who was popularly called Mallam, a roadside trader adjacent to where the boy was living.

Mr. O. Aluko, a Nigerian journalist, informed, “The boy said Mallam had been raping him in his shop anytime he ran errands for his parents and warned him that if he opened up to his mother, he was going to die.”
Mallam apparently took the advantage that the parents of Christopher sent Christopher on errand to his shop to buy domestic items like sugar, milk and biscuits, and raped him.

There was a similar incident in Benin City, Edo State in the first quarter of the year. This time, the rape did not involve just one person. Over 10 boys were seemingly kidnapped by young gay Nigerian couple and kept as the couple’s sex toy.
“Two young men (couple) were apprehended and beaten up by a vigilante group in Benin City, Edo State after it was discovered that they allegedly kidnapped young boys aged between 10-15 years and forcefully had anal sex with them in their hideout,” reported a source that claimed anonymity.

Some of the kidnapped told their rescuers that they were living in faraway Lagos, a journey of about six hours to Edo State, when they were kidnapped and taken away to become sex toy.

There was the story in 2015 of a commercial motorcyclist who was chartered by some ladies at the dusk of the day and was later raped in the nearby bush and abandoned to his fate.
“Earlier this year, 2015, an incident happened in Ilorin, Kwara State. Two young ladies approached an Okada man and asked him to take them to a remote part of town.

“It was already late, so the man initially refused to carry them through that bushy part. But he later agreed after the two promised to pay him N1, 000,” reported naij.com, an online news platform.
The source added that on their way, one of the ladies suddenly asked him to make a stop. But as soon as he parked his motorcycle, “one of the ladies slapped him from behind, and, before he knew what was going on, they had overpowered him and tied him up with a rope. They then dragged him into the bush, tore his trousers and raped him repeatedly before they finally left him there and left.”

The police in Benin in January 2014, arrested and paraded a 33-year-old man, J. Olise, who allegedly raped five boys aged between 10 and 15, and later blamed his action on the girlfriend whom he said left him, thereby making him vulnerable for the act.
Olise, who was said to be residing at room 20, Evbodaghe Street, Eyean in Benin City and had been paraded alongside 59 other suspected criminals at the Edo Police Command Headquarters in Benin City, said, “I don’t know what came over me. It all started when my girlfriend left me and broke my heart, so I wanted to stay away from all women.”

The then State Police Commissioner Foluso Adebanjo, who paraded them, therefore, warned against criminal acts.
In February 2015, a 34-year-old alleged gay identified as O. Obunike was wanted by the police of the Lagos State Area M Police Command for apparently raping a school teacher’s son, 17-year-old B. Akinjide, who happened to be his neighbour, in the Ago Palace Way, Okota area of Lagos State.
The father of the victim, S. Akinjide, who’s a teacher by profession, divulged to media men that the bad omen actually took place in September 2014.

“We have since reported the young man to the police. With the help of the Police, we have since checked his house and shop and he hasn’t been found. We hope the Police would do a thorough job on this case and punish him for such an unlawful act,” the source said.
Reacting to the incident, the State Police Spokesman, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, then, “Maintained that gay practice is against the law in the nation and anyone caught in the act would be severely punished. He added that his men were on the trail to arrest the accused and bring him to book.”

In July 2012, a man whose name was given as U. Onoja was reported to have been raped by six women in a village called Ugbugbu Owukpa in the Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State.

“This is just one of the numerous cases of male rape that are not usually taken seriously in Nigeria and in the world.
“Just as women and girls should be protected against rape and abuse, men and boys should also be protected, in line with gender justice and fairness,” reported naij.com.

Initially, story of rape was associated to boys raping girls, but the reverse has become the case in the country. Cases of young boys used as sex toy, ranging from rape to defilement and even for pornography, abound in Nigeria.
“Rape is a monster which should be stamped out of every civilised society. Whether it is female or male rape, it is an evil act that should be punished duly,” the source added.

Onwumere is a Rivers State based poet, writer and consultant. He won in the digital category, Nordica Media Merit Awards 2016, Lagos; and the International Award for Excellence in Journalism 2016, Geneva. Email: odimegwu@journalist.com
Many Nigerians have cried out that it was unheard of men raping their fellow men, let alone, women raping men say a decade ago. But this is a reality that has confronted the country.

Many of the male victims either commit suicide later or live to feel humiliated due to the patriarchal nature of Nigeria as captured in a Gilia Banks’ commentary titled – Masculinity in Nigeria: Rebellion vs. Conformity and Power.

“Masculinity is the only way of living for both the young and old men of Nigeria. Fathers drill it into their sons and society will reinforce these guidelines to further instill them into every little boy’s way of living. It starts young and they receive training to be the best, as they get older,” Gilia Banks said.