Outcry has continued to trail reported rape and murder of 24-year-old University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) student, Miss Olajide Omowumi Blessing, by some yet-to-be-identified persons, as Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara state, Senator Bukola Saraki, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Kwara female lawyers, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and state legislators have condemned the incident in their separate remarks.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who described the incident as “shocking and utterly condemnable”, called on the security agencies to get to the root of the dastardly act with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
“I similarly call on anyone with valuable information to volunteer same to the security agencies,” the governor said in a personal statement mourning the late Blessing.
“I sincerely commiserate with the parents of the deceased, her course/ housemates, and the university community on this sad incident, while praying the Almighty God to repose her soul. I join every person of good conscience to seek justice for Blessing so that such callous action and its perpetrators will never find a foothold in our society. I hereby send strong warnings that we will not tolerate indiscriminate violence against any person, much less the girl child. Enough is enough! The security agencies will get the perpetrators to pay heavily for this crime.”
Also, the immediate past president of the Senate and former Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has called for an investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of the rape and killing of the 300-level student of the University of Ilorin.
In posts on his social media pages, Saraki said:
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the rape and killing of Miss Blessing Olajide, a 300-level student of Agricultural Science at the University of Ilorin. This act, which is evil, disgusting, and despicable in every sense, must be promptly investigated by the Police and the school authorities — so that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
“The Kwara State government must work to ensure that this act does not go unpunished — as this will serve as a deterrent in the future and will assuage the fears of young women across our state who want to pursue their education.
“It is my hope that the family of Miss Olajide finds the strength from Almighty God that they need at this difficult time as they mourn the passing of their young and promising daughter and sister. Amen,” Saraki said.
Leading a protest in Ilorin on Friday, the Kwara State chairman CSO Platform Against Gender and Sexual Violence, Barrister Antonia Olajide, frowned at the incidence, saying that the continued rape and gender violence against women and girls required the government to take stringent measures to protect the victims.
Olajide, who said that despite the enactment of violations against persons and prohibition extant laws, the right of women and girls have continued to be violated without the perpetrators being brought to book and severely punished.
“We are calling on the government and security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators are caught and brought to book for them to face justice”, she said.
Also, the Kwara State chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Mrs Gloria Okodua, urged the government to beef up its security apparatus to protect lives and property, saying rape cases in society is becoming too rampant.
“We are demanding for justice as lawyers in the country. We have been having a rising incident of rape and the government must live up to their responsibility by securing us, our children and properties. We are tired of mourning our children and we can’t take it any longer”, she added.
The deceased sister, Mrs Dupe Shittu, who spoke on behalf of the family, said she had been living with her for the past seven years and she was shocked to meet her lifeless body in the sitting room after she returned from work.
She said that the only thing that would assuage her death and sooth the family is for the authorities to fish out the perpetrators to face justice even if such will not bring her back. “We want to know why she was killed”, she submitted.
In his reaction, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, described the incident as unfortunate, saying the university management received the news with a heavy heart.
“It was not only ugly but also absolutely unacceptable and must be condemned by people of good conscience.
While sympathising with relations, friends and colleagues of the deceased, the Vice-Chancellor assured that the university would work with security agencies to get to the root of the matter and expose the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
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