“We Thought We Were Starting a New Life”— Lady Breaks Down in Tears as She Recounts How She and Her Friend Were Robbed, Assaulted, and Nearly Raped in Their New Apartment

A young Nigerian lady has taken to social media to recount a harrowing experience that has left many shocked and heartbroken. With trembling words and tearful pauses, she narrated how she and her friend were robbed, assaulted, and narrowly escaped being raped by armed men in their newly rented apartment, just days after moving in. Her story, now trending across social platforms, has reignited nationwide conversations about the alarming rise in insecurity, especially against women, and the false sense of safety many tenants feel when they move into a “secured” neighborhood.

According to her emotional narration, she and her friend had just moved into a new apartment they had saved up for months to afford. Excited about finally having their own space, they spent their first few nights arranging the house, decorating the rooms, and celebrating what they thought was a fresh start. However, their joy was short-lived. In the middle of the night, a group of masked men broke into the apartment, wielding knives and locally made guns. What followed was a scene straight out of a nightmare.

“They broke the door and rushed in before we could even understand what was happening,” she said through tears. “One of them slapped me so hard that I fell. They were shouting and asking for our phones, our money, and everything valuable. My friend was screaming, and one of them pointed a gun at her, telling her to shut up.”

The young woman said they were forced to lie on the floor as the men ransacked the house, taking away their phones, laptops, handbags, and even the little food they had in the kitchen. But the ordeal did not end there. According to her, the men then turned on them with vile intentions.

“One of them started touching me and trying to remove my clothes,” she recounted, sobbing uncontrollably. “I begged him, I begged him with everything in me. I told him to take everything we had but please not to do that. He laughed and said nobody would hear me scream. I kept praying in my heart for God to save us.”

Her prayers, it seems, were answered when the sound of a distant whistle startled the attackers, who quickly gathered their loot and fled. The lady said she and her friend locked themselves in the bathroom, shaking and crying until dawn. “We didn’t sleep till morning. We just kept holding each other and crying,” she said. “I’ve never been that scared in my life.”

When morning came, they rushed to the nearest police station to report the incident. But to their dismay, what awaited them there was another painful experience. “The police officers didn’t even take it seriously at first,” she lamented. “One of them asked us why we were living in that kind of area, as if it was our fault. Another said, ‘You girls are lucky they didn’t finish what they started.’ I felt so insulted.”

According to her, the officers eventually followed them to the apartment and confirmed that the door had been broken and several items stolen, but little effort was made to investigate or trace the suspects. The young woman said the trauma has left her and her friend deeply scarred, forcing them to move out of the apartment only a few days later. “We couldn’t stay there anymore,” she said. “Every night we kept hearing footsteps in our minds. We kept seeing their faces, even though they were masked. We just couldn’t live there again.”

Her video, which has now gone viral, shows her crying uncontrollably as she recounts the experience, warning other young women to be cautious when moving into new areas or apartments. “Please, if you’re getting a new place, make sure it’s safe,” she pleaded. “Don’t trust anybody’s word that the area is secure. Ask around, check for proper security. We almost lost our lives because we believed we were safe.”

Social media users have flooded the comments section with words of comfort, outrage, and calls for justice. Many sympathized with her and condemned the increasing wave of insecurity across Nigerian communities, especially in urban centers where tenants are often left vulnerable due to poor security measures and lack of policing. Some commenters also criticized landlords and agents who fail to provide adequate protection for tenants, prioritizing rent collection over safety.

“This is heartbreaking,” one user wrote. “You move into a new house hoping for peace, and you end up fighting for your life. Our system has failed young people in this country.” Another user said, “We need community watch groups again. People are suffering in silence. It’s not just theft anymore—it’s full-blown violence.”

Unfortunately, this lady’s experience mirrors that of many other victims whose stories never make it to the internet. Across Nigeria, reports of break-ins, robberies, and sexual assaults in residential areas have continued to rise, leaving many young women living in constant fear. Experts say the situation is worsened by poor law enforcement response, inadequate street lighting, and the proliferation of criminal gangs who take advantage of weak security networks.

A social activist, reacting to the viral video, urged authorities to take cases like this seriously. “We cannot continue to allow women to be brutalized in their own homes,” she said. “These are not isolated cases. Every week, there are reports of girls being attacked or robbed in their apartments. The government must ensure stronger neighborhood policing, install security cameras in high-risk areas, and ensure that landlords are held accountable for safety lapses.”

Meanwhile, friends and well-wishers of the victim have set up an online fundraiser to help her and her friend relocate to a safer environment and recover from the trauma. “They lost everything that night—phones, gadgets, money, even their sense of peace,” one of her close friends wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We’re helping them get back on their feet, but nothing can erase that memory.”

Despite her pain, the young woman said she is determined to speak out so others can learn from her experience. “I just want people to be more careful,” she said softly. “We were so happy to start our lives, to live on our own for the first time. But that night took everything from us—our peace, our trust, our joy. I still wake up every night sweating, thinking someone is breaking the door again.”

Her story stands as a chilling reminder that for many Nigerians, the struggle for survival extends beyond the streets and into their very homes. What should have been a fresh chapter turned into a haunting memory—and as her tearful voice continues to echo online, it calls attention not just to her personal tragedy, but to a nation that must confront its growing crisis of insecurity and indifference.