late Miss Ochanya Elizabeth Ogbanje,
Ochanya: Husband, Wife, Son may have contrived, raped relative to death as investigation progresses
Justice may at last be on its way for the soul of late Miss Ochanya Elizabeth Ogbanje, the 13-year-old girl from Benue, North-Central Nigeria who was allegedly raped to death by her guardian, Andrew Ogbuja and his son Victor.
A statement by the National Agency for the prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Friday said Mrs. Ogbuja has also been arrested as accomplice to the crime.
Andrew Ogbuja, Head of Department, Catering and Hotel Management at the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, Benue State, and his son, Victor Inalegwu Ogbuja, a final year student of Animal Production at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, were earlier arrested.
Miss Ogbanje’s death has generated a lot of grief locally and internationally, calling for adequate punishment to the criminal family. This has also raised serious issues about child and sexual abuse in parts of Africa.
NAPTIP said Mrs. Ogbuja is suspected to have had knowledge of the nefarious act but refused to report or speak out.
“The arrest of Mrs. Ogbuja said to be a Staff of the catering Department of the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, came about four weeks after intensive manhunt having disappeared from her house shortly after the tragic incident.
It would be recalled that the late the late Elizabeth Ochanya Ogbaje, a 13 years old student of the Federal Government Girls College, Gboko, who died on Sunday 21st October 2018 after a life battle with Vesico vaginal fistula (VVF) and other health complications at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi”, Adekoya Vincent said in a release.
He said in addition to the ongoing prosecution of the principal suspects in the case, the Director – General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Dame Julie Okah – Donli, immediately directed the Markudi Zonal Command of the Agency to arrest the said Mrs. Ogbuja and other accomplices for prosecution.
The statement added: “Giving detail of the arrest, the Markudi Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Mr. Ganiu Agaran, said it took the combined efforts of operatives of the Agency in Markudi, Lagos and even Abuja before she was arrested.
Report indicated that the suspect, who got hint of the plan to arrest her, had absconded to Lagos and later to Abuja before she finally returned to Markudi were she was arrested Friday afternoon.
Speaking on the development, NAPTIP Director – General, Dame Julie Okah Donli, said the suspect will be thoroughly investigated to ascertain her level of connivance in the incident and thereafter charged to court.
“I am still pained by the tragic death of the Late Elizabeth Ochaya Ogbaje and the only thing we can do to ensure that her groaning spirit rest in peace is to ensure that full dose of justice is served on all those that are directly or indirectly involved in the unwholesome act that led to her death.
“It is important to establish the status of people around the late girl who had knowledge of her ordeal and yet refused to report to the Law enforcement Agencies who would have rescued her.
“We cannot continue to fold our hands while our children are been sexually molested and assaulted by people that ought to have protected them. This case at hand will be a case that will be monitored and all those linked in one way or the other shall all be made to face the full weight of the law.
“I also want to use this opportunity to appeal to all State Governors to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) which is presently applicable in the Federal Capital Territory. This Act is designed to ensure that our children and other vulnerable classes of the society are protected.
“It is important to point out that domesticating the VAPP is another form of giving the citizen real divided of democracy”, NAPTIP Director – General said.
Earlier report said Ochanya was living with her family at Ogene-Amejo, a village in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, until 2013 when her quest for education necessitated her relocation to Ugbokolo where she lived with her mother’s sister. Unfortunately, she was subjected to a life of misery and trauma. Her ordeal began shortly after her arrival in her new home, as Victor allegedly started abusing her sexually. The disgusting deed was discovered by Victor’s sister who promptly reported the matter to her dad, Andrew, a lecturer in the Department of Catering and Hotel Management, Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo.
But the 52-year-old Knight soon after joined his son in the sexual brutalisation of their ward. They took turns to rape and sodomise the poor girl. To ensure compliance from the girl, the duo allegedly fed Ochanya with drugs and threatened her with death if she should reveal the sexual ordeal. For years, Ochanya was sexually abused by the duo to the extent that the JSS 2 pupil of Federal Government Girls’ College, Gboko, got afflicted with Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF). On October 18, after years of living with physical and psychological trauma, the girl died.
Ochanya’s death is reprehensible and has continued to elicit shock and global outrage. Indeed, the disdain for decency displayed by the Ogbujas should not be tolerated in any society.
Recent Comments