The principal counsel for Inibehe Effiong Chambers has petitioned the Nigerian Senate over the failure of the Benue State government to arrest and prosecute a lecturer, Andrew Ogbuja and his son Victor Ogbuja over the rape and subsequent death of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje.
The counsel, Inibehe Effiong, in a letter addressed to the Senate President through Natasha Akpoti, the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, accused the Nigeria Police Force of failing to arrest and prosecute Ogbuja, a lecturer with the Benue State Polytechnic and his son, seven years after the death of Ochanya, a 13-year-old schoolgirl at Ugbokolo township in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State.
Recall that Ochanya, a then Junior Secondary School student of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Gboko, Benue State, died on October 17, 2018, due to health complications that arose from years of prolonged rape at the hands of the Ogbujas, while she lived with them.
A medical report from the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, which formed the scientific or forensic basis for the prosecution, conviction and imprisonment of Mrs Felicia Ogbuja by the Federal High Court, Makurdi, stated that the deceased teenager suffered “faecal and urinary incontinence, which was initially mild and progressively worsened” before her tragic passing.
In a judgment delivered on April 28, 2022, at the Federal High Court, Makurdi Judicial Division, Mrs Felicia Ogbuja was convicted in Charge No: FHC/MKD/CA/12/19 for contravening the provisions of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon, in the judgement held that, “Perhaps if the defendant (Mrs Ogbuja) had taken proper care of Ochanya and had taken appropriate steps upon knowing about Ochanya’s abuse by her son, the situation would not have become worse.
“The omission of the defendant, who owed Ochanya the duty of care, to take steps to ensure the well-being of Ochanya, which would include her not being sexually abused or exploited, as she was in the house of the defendant so she could go to school and I believe would not want to jeopardise her schooling, led to the harm suffered by Ochanya. The harm suffered includes not only the illness she suffered but also the abuse itself, which would have scarred her for life, and I so hold,” Justice Olajuwon said.
Effiong further noted that despite the outrage that greeted the sordid circumstances that surrounded the teenager’s death, the Nigeria Police have refused to perform their statutory duty in the instant case in arresting Victor Ogbuja with a view to bringing him to justice.
Further highlight a brief background into the incident that led to Ochanya’s stay at the residence of the Ogbuja’s to the time of her abuse by father and son and her passing, Effiong urged that his client’s petition be referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for a thorough investigation.
He said that an investigation by the Senate committee would ensure that substantial justice is not only done to the family of the late Miss Ochanya, but is seen to have been done.
He said, “It is our considered view that the seemingly outright refusal of the Nigeria Police Force to apprehend Victor Ogbuja for prosecution and the failure of the Benue State Government to appeal the judgement of the High Court acquitting Andrew Ogbuja, have occasioned a grievous act of injustice not only to the late Ochanya, but also patently poses danger to innocent girls and women unaware the predatory habit and antecedents of the culprit(s).
“Furthermore, the failure to arrest Victor Ogbuja portrays Nigeria in the eyes of the international community as a lawless country where the rights of vulnerable people are trampled upon at will by powerful people and the elite.
“In light of the renewed calls by Nigerians both at home and abroad, the Nigeria Police Force has an opportunity not only to redeem its image in this case but to assert itself as Nigeria’s foremost law enforcement agency.
While we look forward to an expedited action on our petition and requests, please accept our assurances of professional regards,” Effiong noted.
