25-year-old woman shot in the mouth for resisting rape

A 25-year-old woman, Geri Laadi, is battling for her life after she was shot in the mouth by some armed men who wanted to rape her but met a stiff resistance from her.

According to the pathetic story carried in the Sun Newspaper, the young woman, a National Certificate in Education, NCE, holder from the College of Education, Katsina-Ala, Benue State, was going to work early in the morning in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, when she was accosted by the hoodlums, who, after robbing her of her valuables, made attempts to rape her but were surprised as she put up a stiff resistance to preserve her pride. Frustrated by her her fight, the robbers put a gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger.

Narrating the incident to Sun Newspaper reporters, Geri's elder sister, Caroline Anande, a widow with seven children, said the lady who is an orphan has been struggling to better her life all alone with no help from any one.

"My heart is heavy, I am heartbroken looking at my sister lying in pains, she was supporting me immensely with the little income since my husband died. We had been managing to cope with our lean resources until armed robbers surfaced to wipe sleep away from our eyes.

Geri always leaves home at 4:30am for work, though she left at 5am that morning, because of the daily traffic on the Nyanya-Mararaba expressway. But she couldn’t get to Abuja-Keffi expressway to board a bus that will convey her to town that day.

My sister testified after regaining consciousness on a written note, how a masked armed robber snatched her phone and handbag.

Thereafter, they commanded her to undress, she pleaded with them, they were two men the unmasked man was behind backing them while the operation was going on. But, they shouted at her to undress amid her pleas explaining that she was menstruating. But these evil agents insisted on raping her.

In the struggle, she screamed loud in fear for help, and that angered the armed man wearing mask that shot a bullet into her mouth and vanished, leaving her unconscious and bleeding.

It was an okada rider residing within the vicinity that called to inform me of the incident.

In fact, I was devastated seeing her helpless on the ground. Sincerely, I thought she was already dead with the quantity of blood on the ground and on her body from heavy bleeding.

I remain thankful to God and my neighbours who assisted to take her to the Nyanya General hospital where she received initial treatment to revive her before she was referred to the Maitama General Hospital where they told us that her mouth was affected by the shot and her tongue almost chopped off.

After spending 10 days at the hospital, she was discharged and referred to National Hospital or Zaria for further medical attention."

Geri who could not talk to the reporters but was able to answer some questions by writing, said:

"I need assistance to relieve my sister’s burden; she is unemployed and not engaged in any form of trade, because of financial incapacity to cater for her seven children, who are also not attending school. I call for help from anybody that cares to see me through this predicament."