I'm the reason rape victims found a voice in Nigeria - Sugabelly

A lady identified as Sugabelly has stated that she is the reason most rape victims in Nigeria found the boldness to come out with their ordeal.

Nigerian social media atmosphere has been of late filled with stories from ladies who called out those whom they alleged to have raped them in the past.

This was after news of the rape and murder of Uwaila Omozuwa, Barakat Bello and Shomuyiwa Azeezat shocked many Nigerians.

Some of those called out as rapists include singers D'banj, Peruzzi and actor Uti Nwachukwu.

Sugabelly who back in 2015 stated that she was raped by Mustapha Audu, a son of the late former governor of Kogi State, Abubakar Audu, took to Twitter in reaction to the trend

Read her post below.

"Suddenly everybody here is an anti-rape activist.

Suddenly everybody here is brave enough to tell their rape story.

Suddenly everybody here has the guts to call out their rapist on Twitter and tag their handle.

I am the reason any of you can do any of those things with support

Me.

Sugabelly.

I am the reason.

I got up every day and did battle alone for years to win you the atmosphere of support you are enjoying now when you come out to tell your story

And I almost paid for it with my life

And I never asked for anything back

But you spit in my face

I did no interviews.

I turned them all down because I had to do my best to be unimpeachable.

Vice News emailed me to interview in 2015, along with hundreds of newspapers and I turned them all down because back then you had to not appear to seek attention.

Now it’s about a bag.

I had to silently watch my reputation be destroyed forever in newspapers / online because I had to go to court and keep quiet about it

I had to do everything properly with almost no support in a tsunami of insults and mockery

And who’s benefiting from all I suffered today?

You.

Did anybody ever apologise to me?

Did any of the public figures, even the one who worked in the Presidency at the time who wrote a nasty article about me published in the Guardian ever apologise?

Did any of the people who said Mustapha is a good chap apologise?

Nobody did.

Now so many of the people who laughed at me then have launched new careers as sexual consent NGOs and thought leaders who do seminars and speak at events about Feminism and women’s rights and whatnot, and I’m the supposed vile person?

Me who never took or asked for a dime?

I fought a righteous war for all of your sakes you filthy ingrates.

If you don’t like me or you think I’m a vile person, choke on some supersized virus particles and drop down to the core of the earth and die there.

Death, destruction, and endless dismay to hypocrites.

TO THIS DAY, my biggest and most painful regret is that people still repeat the lies that were seeded about my Mother by my rapists camp into the press as if they are true because endless newspapers published them and I couldn’t even defend my own Mother because lawyers said so.

You will never make me feel guilty for defending myself and you will never make me feel guilty for rejoicing at the downfall of my enemies. Never.

None of you know what I had to face alone yet all of you are basking in the results today and you have the temerity to insult me".

Suddenly everybody here is an anti rape activist.

Suddenly everybody here is brave enough to tell their rape story.

Suddenly everybody here has the guts to call out their rapist on Twitter and tag their handle.

I am the reason any of you can do any of those things with support

— Sugabelly ???? (@sugabelly) June 9, 2020