Across Facebook, Nigerians are sharply divided over the comments of a serving corps member who publicly claimed that men can “lose their senses” when sexual urges begin, suggesting such urges could lead to the rape of “innocent girls.”

For many users, the reaction is immediate outrage. They see his words as a red flag, a public warning that he may be a danger to women around him. To them, a man serving under a national youth scheme, in contact with communities and young people, should never speak of rape as an almost natural outcome of male desire.

Some voices, mostly male, frame his post as an uncomfortable but honest confession. They argue that he is simply describing the intensity of sexual temptation and asking for help, not endorsing rape. In their view, he is a struggling young man, not a criminal, and the backlash is excessive.

Others reject that defense outright. They insist that self-control is a basic requirement of adulthood and that linking “losing senses” to rape is not honesty but a dangerous attempt to normalize or excuse sexual violence. For this group, his words reveal a mindset that treats women’s safety as secondary to male desire.

Concerned users move beyond debate and call for action. They tag the police and other authorities, urging an investigation into the corps member’s background and current posting. They want assurances that he does not have unsupervised access to women or girls in his place of primary assignment.

Many demand that the National Youth Service Corps identify him and take institutional steps: psychological evaluation, close monitoring, and removal from service if he is found to pose a risk. They argue that the scheme has a duty to protect the public from anyone who openly suggests rape can be an outcome of “losing senses.”

Women’s rights advocates join in, stressing that such statements cannot be brushed aside as online talk. In a country where sexual violence is widespread and often underreported, they argue that public comments hinting at rape must be treated as early warning signs, not as jokes or confessions to be pitied.

At the same time, a quieter segment of the public remains indifferent or fatigued. Some scroll past the controversy, seeing it as just another social media storm that will fade. Others express resignation, saying that similar attitudes toward women are common and that nothing meaningful will change.

Amid admiration for those speaking out, anger at the corps member’s words, and apathy from those who feel nothing will come of it, one point still unites many Nigerians: institutions must respond more firmly to public statements that appear to rationalize or anticipate sexual assault, before words turn into harm.