Thread by @GbengaWemimo

There is nothing as disheartening as being accused of something you didn't do
It is so crushing
I saw a video once as an undergraduate
In the video, a lady was standing stark naked
She was surrounded by ten other ladies and two guys
They accused her of stealing undies and clothes

The ladies were all holding belts, canes, and sticks
it was obvious they had been beating her before they tore off her clothes
They were singing for her and they kept telling her to dance
Out of the blue, a guy walked in and started slapping her on the waist and even her pubic

area
The video traumatized me seriously
I don't know the pleasure people derive from stripping others of dignity
Has it proven to be psychologically effective that we shame a "thief" so that such can change?
Three weeks later, i went to see a lady I was dating at the time in OAU

We had agreed to attend a BSF conference at a town in Osun State
So I went to her school to link up with her
When we got to the motor park in Ile-Ife I saw this lady
The lady in the video
She sat at the passenger seat beside the driver at the front of the vehicle
I couldn't say

how i recognized her (I am usually very terrible with faces and names)
It was just this knowing, a strong knowing inside of me
It felt like a locator or a homing device
I simply knew she was the one
I didn't say anything to the lady with me
When we got to our destination, we

parted ways
We took motorcycles to the venue of our meeting while the lady also took a motorcycle to another destination
I forgot all about the incident
We had the BSF conference on Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning
We left from the venue at 11AM on Sunday
I followed the lady

with me to the bus going to Ile-ife (She was returning to school)
As soon as her bus left the park, i went to sit in the bus going my way (I was returning to school too)
I was seated right behind the driver
A few minutes later, this same lady (The one in the video) boarded the

bus and sat right next to me
I knew at that moment that it was not a coincidence
I had to engage her
There was no way the person inside that skin was still normal, not after what i saw in that video
My usual practise those days was to pray as soon as the bus took off and preach

a spontaneous message of salvation
I didn't do that this time
I prayed silently
As soon as i finished praying, she turned to me and said "You are a student of Bowen University right?"
(My ID card was on my neck)
I said yes
She told me her school and we began to talk
She told me

she had some cousins in my school
After a few minutes she told me her boyfriend used to be in my school
I asked her for his name
She declined to give it to me
She told me they broke up recently
I asked her why
She said I shouldn't worry
She was so sad
But I had added it together

I knew it had to do with that video
It was before Whatsapp share was reduced to 5 people and the video was shared by almost everyone
So I told her about myself
In a relaxed mood
I was very funny and made quite a joke out of my past
I told her i used to be a kleptomaniac
Just like

that
She didn't believe I said it without any air of self consciousness
She laughed at the tale of some of my daring exploits and how i was eventually caught while in the boarding house and at home
She laughed deep and hard
it was a good day in the market
Then she told me what

she went to do in Ejigbo
She said a guy in 300 Level in their school asked her out
She said she was not really considering the guy but he was very keen on being around her and spending some money for her
She said she went with the flow and got to like him
They started seeing each

other but she told him she was in a relationship and they can only be friends
She said he still came around often and took her out
She knew he wanted to press home his intention but she was in a relationship and she was not going to change her mind because her boyfriend was in

another school
According to her, she got a whatsapp message from him to come to a certain address one saturday
She said she chatted with him for about ten minutes before he asked her to come around
She said she dressed up and went to the place at about 4pm
Before she could say

GSW, some people pounded on her and started beating her
it was the guy's girlfriend
The guy's girlfriend had been away on Industrial Training while the guy was chasing her
She had no idea the guy was in a relationship
She was not even allowed to say a word
they beat her up and

stripped her nakedy
They claimed she was a thief
They said they were going to kill her
She said she really feared for her life and did everything they demanded
She danced and sang all the denigrating song they sang for her
At the end of it all she was glad she was still alive

but her relief turned to sorrow when she saw that the video had gone viral
The video was tagged "How XXX students dealt with a thief"
She was accused of stealing undies
She said she almost committed suicide
The shame was too much
Eventually she went home and told her mother what

happened
Her mother told her to go to their hometown and talk to an uncle
The uncle heard her story and gave her certain things to do when she got back to school
She said she was determined to destroy the lives of everyone who took part in framing her and destroying her life

I heard her with my mouth wide open
She was going to use a charm to bathe
The charm was supposed to make all those who molested her develop mental illness
It was to be her revenge
I didn't argue with her
I listened with rapt attention and then i told her how by the power of the

Holy Spirit I was able to overcome my issues and gain victory over the spiritual forces that dictated the affairs of my life until i met the Lord
It was her turn to open her mouth
She said she had never seen the Holy Spirit work so swiftly before
I told her she only needed to

meet the Lord Jesus and get filled with the Holy Spirit
I rode with her all the way to Ibadan
When we alighted from the bus, i asked her if she would like to meet my mother
(My Mum is a Christian and I didn't think i did a good job of convincing her to drop the path she was

determined to pursue)
She said okay
So i took her home
My mother met her
She told my mother the whole story and asked for counsel
My mother prayed for her and told her to throw away the charm
She agreed
She returned to her school that same day
Three weeks after we met, the lady

that set her up came to her to beg for her forgiveness
The lady also made a video confessing her sin and begging for forgiveness (The video didn't go viral)
God took away her reproach
She graduated and was posted for NYSC in Ilorin
She got married to a brother she met in Ilorin

I often wonder what would have become of her and her accusers if she had gone through with her plan
It is wrong to blackmail people by saying you will commit suicide so that you can gain sympathy for a false accusation

Desperate people turn to all sorts for help

Remember this!

Framed gbengawemimo.com/post/framed
She was not even allowed to say a word
they beat her up and stripped her naked
They claimed she was a thief
They said they were going to kill her
She said she really feared for her life and
did everything they demanded