Family of 13-year-old girl raped to death appeals to new IGP to arrest fleeing suspect

The family of a 13-year-old girl, Ochanya Ogbanje who was allegedly raped to death in Benue State has renewed call for justice.

Ochanya died in October last year, due to complications arising from the alleged sexual assaults the deceased suffered at the hands of her guardian, Mr Andrew Ogbuja, a lecturer at the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo and his son, Victor Ogbuja, a final year student at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.

Speaking at the 2nd annual awards and lecture of the Daily Asset Newspaper on Monday in Abuja, where the late Ochanya was conferred with the paper’s posthumous award for the Young Person of the Year 2018, the deceased’s brother, Mr. John Ameh, the renewed call for the swift prosecution of the alleged culprits.

Ameh appealed to the new Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu to take urgent steps to arrest the second suspect in the matter, Victor Ogbuja, whom he said had been on the run since the news of Ochanya’s death broke.

He said Ochanya’s death had left the family heartbroken, due to the sordid circumstances that led to her untimely departure, urging the new police boss to direct the Benue State Police commissioner, Mr. Okon Ene to declare the suspect wanted.

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“Our demand for justice is not borne out of vengeance, but the sheer desire to ensure that other girls within the community and Nigeria as a whole, are safe from the pandemic of sexual violence.

“On behalf of the family, I would like to thank the management and staff of Daily Asset Newspaper for this kind gesture. It is the first of its kind from a private organisation, in trying to raise awareness about the dangers of child sexual abuse, which has assumed epidemic proportions n the country,” he said.

The chairman of the occasion and former presidential aspirant, Prof. Iyorwuese Hagher, called on government at all levels to invest in education.

In the same vein, the guest lecturer, Prof. Yima Sent, noted that the bedrock for meaningful development in any society must be predicated on quality education from the primary to the tertiary level.

Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson won the paper’s Governor of the Year Award, and was represented by his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Iworiso Markson.

Other awardees include: Speaker of the House of Representative, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Baduru, Benue, Jigawa and Akwa Ibom governors.