The family of the late Ochanya Ogbanje, a 13-year-old who died in 2018 from complications linked to prolonged sexual abuse, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to reopen her case and declare the prime suspect, Victor Ogbuja, wanted.
The petition signed by human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, urged the police to recall the case file from the Benue State Police Command and place the suspect on a watchlist.
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“We urge the Inspector General of Police to declare the fleeing suspect Victor Ogbuja wanted, put him on the watchlist and launch a manhunt to arrest him,” the petition reads.
The family also requested police protection due to continuous and enduring threats from the alleged perpetrator’s family, “who are relatively influential and politically connected.”
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Ochanya’s case resurfaced in public discourse following her seventh memorial anniversary held in Abuja as Nigerians on X, Facebook, and TikTok renewed calls for justice and demanded Mr Ogbuja’s arrest.
Backstory
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that Ochanya, a Junior Secondary School student at the Federal Government Girls College, Gboko, Benue State, died on 17 October 2018 from complications of Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF), a condition doctors linked to prolonged sexual abuse.
The abuse was allegedly perpetrated by her maternal relatives — a lecturer at the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, Andrew Ogbuja, and his son, Victor Ogbuja. Both were accused of serially raping the teenager over several years until she fell ill and later died.
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Victor, who was declared wanted by the police in 2018, has remained at large since he reportedly fled to evade arrest.
His father, Andrew Ogbuja, was later arraigned for rape and culpable homicide but was acquitted by the Benue State High Court in Makurdi on 22 April 2022.
On the same day, in a separate case, the Federal High Court in Makurdi convicted and sentenced his wife, Felicia Ochiga-Ogbuja, who was Ochanya’s guardian, to five months’ imprisonment without an option of fine for negligence that exposed the child to sexual abuse.
The Federal High Court ruling was later upheld by the Court of Appeal in November 2022.
Petition
According to the petition, since the incident occurred seven years ago, the Nigerian Police Force failed to apprehend and prosecute the fleeing suspected rapist.
“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 it progressively worsened” before her tragic passing,” the petition reads.
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The deceased’s family noted that the “outright refusal” of the police to arrest and prosecute the key suspect is a grievous injustice to the victim and other females unaware of his antics.
They reiterated that the inaction of the police portrays Nigeria as a lawless country in the international community where the rights of vulnerable people are trampled upon at will by powerful people and the elite.
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