Revulsion over Nigeria rape video shows power of social media

CSM

12 October 2011

Revulsion over Nigeria rape video shows power of social media

In Nigeria, rape video depicting an apparent gang attack on a woman by college students sparks a criminal investigation, and raises questions of how much smartphones have changed Nigerian society.

By David Francis

On Sept. 17, a popular Nigerian blogger named Linda Ikeji wrote that she was in possession of an hour-long tape of five students from Abia State University gang-raping a young woman. Ms. Ikeji is a widely followed and popular writer known for her accurate celebrity gossip and entertainment reporting. Her claim to be in possession of such a tape drew immediate attention.

 “These boys can’t get away with this. Please if there’s any Women Rights Group, police, lawyers, journalists, who can take this up, please contact me; I will bring the video to you, wherever you are or send via email,” she wrote.

Within days, the video was widely available. Taken with a mobile camera, it graphically shows five men taking turns raping a young woman in a university dormitory. They laugh as the woman asks them to kill her.

Public reaction to the rape video, even a month later, has been characterized by shock, as one would expect in a society where rape is rarely reported and where rape victims face public shame if they come forward. But just as significant as the public anger itself is the way in which that anger has been transmitted: by the very smartphone technology that has transformed Nigerian society and the way it shares information.