On the night of January 29th, 2016, something terrifying happened inside my hostel—Sage Exquisite Lodge, located at Living Rocks Junction, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU).
Around 9:00 PM, a battered white Hilux van pulled up. Six soldiers in uniform, without name tags, stormed the compound. Without a word of explanation, they locked the main gate, marched into our building, and ordered all residents—male and female—to assemble outside in front of the hostel.
We stood in line like criminals, confused and afraid. Then came the first round of violence. The soldiers began randomly slapping, flogging, and shouting at everyone. I was one of those slapped and flogged that night. There was no question, no investigation—just brutality.
Then they turned to our caretaker. One soldier asked him to point out the “bad boys” giving him trouble. The caretaker hesitated, and for that, he was slapped across the face without warning. He tried to look into his record book to recall names—but that earned him another slap, and soon after, a beating with two large sticks.
Fearing for his life, the caretaker randomly picked out five male students, hoping it would satisfy them. It didn’t. The soldiers added three more boys themselves, calling them forward for what they referred to as “military practicals.”
While those boys were being brutally punished, the rest of us were forced to sing military parade songs under duress. The abuse and intimidation continued for over three hours, from 9 PM to around 12:30 AM.
No one explained why this happened.
No names were taken.
No report was filed.
Just pain, fear, and silence.
Why I’m Speaking Up:
Most students at MOUAU still don’t know this ever happened. But it did. I was there. I lived through it. I was hit. I saw others humiliated and hurt.
This isn’t just about that night—it’s about awareness, accountability, and making sure such abuses of power don’t continue unchecked.
All images included in this article were taken by me and are used solely for documentation and awareness purposes. Identities have been protected