Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, Lawyer Petition Senate Over Seven-Year Failure To Arrest Fugitive Suspect In 13-Year-Old’s Rape, Death
The prolonged abuse eventually led to severe medical complications, including vesico-vaginal fistula that left her incontinent. She died in October 2018.
A renewed push for justice in the tragic case of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje has reached the National Assembly as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong have submitted a formal petition to the Senate President.
It urged an investigation into the seven-year failure to arrest and prosecute Victor Ogbuja, the alleged prime suspect in the teenager’s prolonged sexual abuse and death.
The petition, filed by Inibehe Effiong Chambers on behalf of Ochanya’s family, details how the young girl from Ogene-Amejo in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State was placed under the care of a maternal relative, Mrs. Felicia Ogbuja, so she could attend school in Ugbokolo. Instead of safety, Ochanya suffered years of sexual assault.
According to the petition, made available to SaharaReporters on Thursday, she was “repeatedly raped through both vaginal and anal routes by Andrew Ogbuja, a lecturer, and his son Victor, beginning at about age eight”.
The prolonged abuse eventually led to severe medical complications, including vesico-vaginal fistula that left her incontinent. She died in October 2018.
“Victor Ogbuja fled immediately the case became public in 2018 and, despite full knowledge of the allegations by the Nigeria Police Force, he has never been arrested or prosecuted in the past seven years.
“Andrew Ogbuja was discharged and acquitted by the Benue State High Court in 2022 on the grounds that the prosecution failed to link him directly to the crime, and the Benue State Government rejected pleas from Ochanya’s family to appeal the judgment.”
The petition noted that while Mrs Felicia Ogbuja was convicted by the Federal High Court in Makurdi for neglecting her duty of care toward the child and sentenced to five months imprisonment, a conviction later upheld by the Court of Appeal. “Members of the Ogbuja family has continued to intimidate, bully, and threaten Ochanya’s mother and surviving siblings.”
The petitioners regretted that despite the Benue State Government had promised to rebuild the abandoned primary school in Ogene-Amejo and rename it after Ochanya, the school has remained dilapidated, seven years after without even teachers or learning materials.
The petitioners urged the Senate to refer the matter to its Standing Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for thorough investigation, warning that the continued impunity not only denies justice to Ochanya and her family but portrays Nigeria as a lawless country where the rights of vulnerable girls are trampled upon by the powerful.
Senator Natasha, representing Kogi Central, described the case as one of the most heartbreaking instances of institutional failure and injustice against the girl-child in Nigeria and promised that the Senate would act swiftly.
Meanwhile, Effiong Esq has announced that his chamber is handling the case pro-bono.
Giving the background in the petition, the lawyer said, “From the brief of our client, we wish to particularise the facts of this case as follows: Ochanya Ogbanje was five years old when she was taken by her mother, Rose Abah, from Ogene-Amejo to live with Mrs Felicia Ogbuja, a maternal relative in Ugbokolo township of Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State.
“Ochanya left the rural Ogene-Amejo because there was no functional primary school in the community.
“Mr Andrew Ogbuja and his son, Victor Ogbuja, were believed to have taken turns in raping Ochanya until she took ill at the age of seven. On one occasion, Winifred Ogbuja, Mr and Mrs Ogbuja’s eldest daughter, caught Victor Ogbuja raping Ochanya.
“According to our client, Mr Ogbuja and his son repeatedly raped Ochanya through the vagina and anus until she developed a medical condition diagnosed as faecal and urinary incontinence.”