How I was raped at 14 – Actress Iyabo Ojo recounts

SEASONED Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo, has revealed how she was raped by one of the armed robbers who invaded her husband’s house in Lagos, shortly after she got married.

According to the actress, who opened up on her past experience as a victim of rape, she had been raped five times, which all started when she was 14 years old.

The actress said she had remained silent over the issue at the time because of the fear of being criticised by members of the society.

“Like I said, yes I have been raped before. Not once but five times. And trust me when I say it wasn’t easy. The first time I was raped, I was 14. It happened at my aunty’s house (not a family member). I didn’t want to talk about it because it was taboo to talk about it. I felt I would be blamed for everything that happened,” she said.

She went further to narrate other horrid rape experiences which affected her mentally and emotionally. She added that in one of the instances, she was raped in her husband’s house.

“Then the other one happened after I got married to my husband and had my kids, then we moved to Ikeja. I was raped by one of the armed robbers who came to our house to rob. It’s not easy to talk about rape. No matter how much you talk about it, you have to realise that it is painful, but you are not alone,” she said.

Ojo urged people who had similar experience to summon courage in sharing their stories as such would help create more awareness about the scourge.