Ekemini, a teenage girl who was raped at 12, became a mother at 13 in Akwa Ibom State rises above all the challenges in her early life to become a shining star at 23 in what many now see as a huge turning point in her life
By Chinedu Oguh, Port Harcourt
Akwa Ibom State has in recent years remained one the flash points of gender-based violence in the South-South region of Nigeria. Cases of domestic abuse, sexual assault and child rape continue to make headlines, revealing vulnerability of women and children in the state.
One of the most disturbing incidents in recent time is a young girl who was rescued after she was raped at 12, accused of being a witch and abandoned to her fate. She was reportedly assaulted sexually in 2016 under what could be described as tragic and totally unexpected circumstances.
Ekemini, an orphan who hawks groundnuts for a living became pregnant as a result of rape. She was humiliated, intimidated, accused of being a witch. She suffered the worst of rejection and dejection with has health condition she was sleeping under uncompleted building without any medical care from anybody.
According to reports, she remained isolated and malnourished until a Danish aid worker Loven Ringgren and her Nigerian husband Emmanuel Umem, rescued Ekemini in May 2016 when she was eight months pregnant.
Ekemini became pregnant as a result of rape and gave birth at 13 through caesarean section as her pelvis was not fully developed.
Giving an update in a statement on Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Ringgran revealed that Ekemini now 23, left the orphanage yesterday for culinary school, 10 years after surviving childhood rape, teenage pregnancy and abandonment.
“From being raped at 12 years and accused of being a witch to getting admission into the International Class for Culinary Arts, Denmark, it’s a thing of joy to me” she wrote, “Ekemini was 13 years old when she gave birth to Abasiofon. We rescued her when she was 8 months pregnant”.
“It has been 10 years now since we rescued Ekemini and took her to the hospital. Because of her young age she had to have a caesarean. To this day I have never heard Ekemini complain, only one hour after giving birth she was ready to stand up and leave the hospital. Despite being a mother at 13 years, Ekemini was very responsible and devoted to her new role.
At the same time Ekemini was determined to go back to school. Despite being a teenage mother, she wanted an education last year she graduated from secondary school, thus achieved her first goal in life,” said Ringgren.
She went further to say, Ekemini’s second goal was to get a high education and that journey began when she left Land of Hope for the first time.
“I was very emotional because I know how hard she has worked to be where she is today with your support to Land of Hope, you gave Ekemini a new life full of dreams, she raised her son in our care with much pride and joy. Abasiofon turns 10 this month and despite how difficult it was for Ekemini to live away from her son, she knows she has raised a strong intelligent boy who is well taken care of at Land of Hope.
She never had a youth like her peers due to early motherhood, so now is her time to experience life on her own and she deserves every bit of it,” Loven Ringgren said.
Speaking with Tentacle, Michael Ogbu said in every situation one finds himself, one should give thanks to God. “Destiny can only be delayed but never can change if not for the intervention of the white lady, the Akwa Ibom society would have destroyed this promising lady’s future.”
A human rights advocate group in the state lamented that “rape” remains a persistent form of gender-based violence (GBV) in the state and many survivors are unwilling to report because they lack confidence in the justice system. The group also noted that perpetrators are often shielded even when cases are reported. Religious leaders, traditional rulers and politicians sometimes intervene for perpetrators, discouraging survivors from seeking justice. The body stressed the need to change this narrative, saying perpetrators must be held accountable to serve as a deterrent to others.
In years back, due to alarming rate of sexual violence in rural areas of the state, where limited access to justice and fear of stigma discourage reporting child defilement cases, prompted the Akwa Ibom State Government in 2023 to restate its zero tolerance stance on gender-based violence leading to renewed collaboration with non-governmental organizations and the establishment of gender-desk in some police divisions.
Despite the foregoing efforts, activists say prosecution remains slow, survivor support is inadequate, and poverty continues to expose women and children to risk.
In a related development, the brave heart initiative has warned the public against viewing or sharing a graphic video of a minor being gang rape in Enwan, Akoko-Edo Council of Edo State.
The NGO in a statement warned that such acts violate the cybercrime Act of 2015, which regards distributing or transmitting child pornography as a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for 10 years or a fine of not less than N20,000,000 or both fine and imprisonment.
It added that possessing child pornography is also a criminal offence punishable by five years imprisonment or a fine of not less than N10,000,000 or both fine and imprisonment.
The organization said it received reports of a trending video online involving four men who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl. The rape according to the NGO, took place at Enwan community on Saturday 7, February 2026 and the girl was threaten into silence.
It added that the family of the victim only discovered the incident when the young men uploaded the video online. “It was when the young men uploaded the video that the girl’s family discovered that their child had been sexually assaulted and a formal report was made to the Police” the team said.
It further stated that while Police investigation is ongoing, another family came forward with a video of their own daughter who was raped by the same set of boys, now increased from four to seven in the second video. They allegedly assaulted the second girl barely 24 hours after the first.
The NGO said they are not sure of the total number of victims/survivors but are currently providing support to the survivors and their families while also sensitizing the public about the criminal implication of disseminating such videos.
It appealed to the Edo State government to review the existing sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) laws to adequately sanction online sexual violence, while also urging the public to report such video to appropriate authorities and stop victim shaming of rape survivors.
