A local lawmaker in Akwa Ibom state, Uduak Nseobot, has reportedly appeared before a state high court in Uyo, the state capital, for allegedly assaulting a woman and stripping her naked in the public. Nseobot is a councillor in Ibiono Ibom local government area, Akwa Ibom state, Premium Times reports.

According to Legit.ng  Nseobot and his wife, Aniedi, were charged to court on July 11 by the Akwa Ibom state government for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting, and publicly stripping the woman, Iniubong Essien, whom they had accused of stealing some money.

The couple claimed the money was “sprayed” on them at their wedding. However, Ms Essien, who has been a close friend to the councillor’s wife for about 10 years, denied stealing the money. She said she assisted the Nseobots in cooking and serving food to their wedding guests and that she was not even the person who helped the couple to pick money donated to them at the wedding. The councillor and his wife, supported by their friends, were said to have abducted Ms Essien from her home in Uyo in the morning, around November 2018, and drove her to a village in Ibiono, about 27 kilometres. She was then taken to the village hall around 10am.

Narrating her ordeal to Premium Times, Ms Essien, who is over 40 years old, said:

“I WAS BEATEN AND FORCED TO WALK STARK NAKED IN THE VILLAGE HALL, THEY REMOVED MY DRESS, MY BRA, AND MY PANT.

“PEOPLE WERE INSIDE THE VILLAGE HALL, I THINK HE (THE COUNCILLOR) MAY HAVE TOLD THEM THAT HE WAS BRINGING A THIEF FOR THEM TO BEAT, SO THE WHOLE PLACE WAS FILLED WITH PEOPLE. “HE WAS MIXING CHARCOAL WITH PEPPER TO RUB ON MY BODY, BUT HE DIDN’T RUB (IT) ON ME. THEY TIED A ROPE AROUND MY WAIST AND SAID I MUST DANCE NAKED BEFORE THE VILLAGE PEOPLE.”

She said the councillors, his wife, and their friends used their mobile phones to take photos and videos of her, while she was naked and being beaten. At the courtroom, the councillor, Nseobot, stood in the dock with a forlorn look. However, his wife, said to be resident in the US, was not present in the court.

The judge, Archibong Archibong, struck out the wife’s name from the charge sheet, following a request from the prosecution counsel, Godwin Udom. The prosecution counsel withdrew his earlier application for a bench warrant against the councillor.

The counsel to the accused, Mfon Ben, informed the court he has filed an application challenging the validity of the charges against his client. Ben's request that the councillor should not take his plea until the court disposes of his objection was accepted by the judge. The judge also adjourned to October 14 for the court to hear the argument on the preliminary objection. Ms Essien, the victim of the alleged assault, is a trader in Uyo who sells cloths and household items. “I feel very sad. “I don’t have a way to express how I feel. All I want is justice,” she said she recalled the incident.

SOURCE: https://unclesuru.com/2019/08/10/akwa-ibom-lawmaker-allegedly-beats-woman-strips-her-naked-in-public/