Ex-NYSC coordinator recounts rape, urges survivors to break silence

By Boye Oyeyemi

A former Ondo State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps, Grace Akpabio, has recounted how she was raped by a fellow student at the University of Port Harcourt in 1983, saying “the experience left her devastated.”

Akpabio, who shared the experience in a Facebook post, said she was 19 and in her first year at the university when the incident occurred, days after her father died in a road accident. She said she had travelled between the university’s Abuja and Choba parks at night to meet a friend and attend a group discussion.

According to her, a male student she knew, whom she identified as Monty Michael, offered her a lift. She said he told her they would stop briefly at Delta Park to deliver something to a friend before continuing to Choba Park.

However, Akpabio said she became suspicious when the student asked her to accompany him into a house at the staff quarters. She said she later realised the door had been locked and that her attempts to leave were unsuccessful.

She said Michael expressed his attraction to her and attempted to have sex with her despite her refusal. “I struggled with him, I shouted, I don’t know if there was nobody in the house, eventually he overpowered me and raped me,” she wrote.

Akpabio said the assault was particularly traumatic because she was a virgin at the time and had recently lost her father. She said she could not tell her mother or friends, but confided in a friend, Dora, who was a medical student and took her to a clinic for examination and treatment.

Years later, Akpabio said she had learnt to be more cautious about accepting lifts, particularly when a driver makes an unexpected stop. She added that she had forgiven the man she accused of raping her and moved on, crediting her faith in God for helping her recover.

Akpabio, who shared the account alongside a photograph with her first grandchild, urged survivors of sexual assault not to give up on themselves and encouraged them to break their silence. She also called on law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to ensure that victims receive justice, while urging parents and guardians to remain vigilant against sexual violence.