Mabel, 78, lived with her youngest son, Vitus, in relative peace in their Umuahia, Abia State residence until the 36-year-old college dropout decided to turn her into a sex toy. Vitus, unskilled and jobless, was forced to live with his mother by necessity and Mabel had no choice but to give him shelter even though many of his childhood friends had moved from home to seek a livelihood and start their own families. The 36-year-old’s two elder brothers are resident in Amsterdam, Netherlands hence Mabel also felt she could use the company. Trouble, however, reared its ugly head to ruin their picture-perfect life when Vitus developed a drinking problem. The 36-year-old, according to a neighbour, had too much money at his disposal for someone who was unemployed. Vitus reportedly lived on money remitted back home by his siblings. Mabel, his mother, disclosed that things worsened after Vitus’ visa application to Europe was denied. Heartbroken, the 36-year-old took solace in drinking. According to Mabel, she struggled to condole his drunkenness to no avail. Soon, Vitus, severely drunk, hung-over and angry, began to walk around the house naked.
“Twice, he masturbated in my presence; the first time, I walked in on him doing it in the living room. He knew I was at home but he made no attempt to relocate to his room even after I saw him. The second time he did it, he came to meet me in the kitchen stroking his organ. He said he came to ask what I had prepared for breakfast. That day, I lost my cool and slapped him. I told him he was a bastard and that I would report him to his brothers abroad. Normally, he would beg me not to report to them but he told me to go to hell. He said he didn’t care what I told them and accused me of treating them as my favourite sons because they were doing very well abroad.
“I couldn’t tell his brothers. If I did, they would have dealt with him severely. They would cut him off. He later came to apologise to me and told me he was turning a new leaf,” said Mabel.
If she believed his show of remorse, it was to her own peril. Vitus soon began to take pictures of her while she took her bath and dressed in her bedroom with his phone.
“It was easy for him to get in my room at will because the lock was bad. I was worried and scared stiff; so, I decided to get a lock fixed on my door on a Friday afternoon while he was away. He had gone partying and clubbing as usual and he came home very drunk at midnight. I knew he was around because he kicked the door open and broke the lock from the hinges. I startled awake but I could not shout because it was very late and I didn’t want the neighbours to find out what was happening in our home. They had always known me and my late husband to be disciplinarians.
“When he got inside, he blamed me for ruining his life and accused me of not doing enough to help him. He said he was going to punish me for my wickedness. As he spoke, he unzipped his trouser and urinated all over my bed, bathing me with urine as he did. He called me a witch claiming he was peeing on me to neutralise my evil powers.
“I tried to get off the bed but he shoved me back and pinned me to the bed. He punched me on both shoulders and my knees. The pain shot through my whole being and it was unbearable. He mounted me roughly. I was too weak to resist; then he tore my panties off and raped me. He raped me twice on that night,” revealed the 78-year-old.
Mabel is convinced that Vitus acted so because he was under a spell. “I had never seen him like that. He was very agitated and his eyes were glazed over. He raped me like he was on drugs. The following morning, I was sore all over,” she said.
Things, however, got to a head when Vitus raped his mother just before her childhood friend came visiting. Mabel tearfully confided in her and the latter in turn, alerted Vitus’ two siblings abroad. Pleading anonymity, the woman, a retired school principal who claimed to have taught Vitus in high school, said she was worried that the community would impose severe penalties on Vitus given rising resentment against incessant rape of elderly women in their community. No sooner she informed her friend’s older children than the eldest son, Christopher jetted back to the country. But just before he arrived, Mabel reportedly gave Vitus a sizable sum of money and urged him to flee. “I wasn’t in support of her action because that boy, (Vitus) needs help. But she said she was scared of what his brothers might do to him,” said the retired school principal and the victim’s childhood friend.
