Ochanya: Arrest fleeing rape suspect, family begs IGP

The Ogbanje family of Ogene-Amejo, Okpowu Local Government, Benue, has appealed to the Inspector-General of Police (I-G) to arrest Victor Ogbuja for allegedly raping their late teenage daughter, Ochanya Ogbanje, and fleeing.

This is contained in a petition written by the family to the I-G, titled “Petition on police refusal to arrest and prosecute Victor Ogbuja over the gruesome rape to death of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje after seven years.”

The family’s petition, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, urged the I-G to declare the fleeing suspect wanted, put him on a watchlist, and manhunt and arrest him.

According to the family, in spite of the outrage that greeted the sordid circumstances that surrounded Ochanya’s death, the police have failed to arrest the suspect and bring him to justice seven years later.

“We write to bring to your knowledge the blatant refusal of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to apprehend and prosecute a fleeing suspected rapist, Victor Ogbuja, seven long years after he absconded when it was made public that he repeatedly raped Ochanya Ogbanje.

“Ochanya, then a junior secondary school student of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Gboko, Benue, died on Oct. 17, 2018, due to health complications from years of prolonged rape at the hands of the Ogbujas while she lived with them.

“We urge the I-G to declare the fleeing suspect Ogbuja wanted, put him on the watchlist and launch a manhunt to arrest him,” the petition filed by the family’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, reads in part.

The family, which also claimed that the suspect is living in Lagos, requested the I-G to recall the case file from the Police Command in Benue to the Force Headquarters for further investigation.

The Ogbanje family further claimed that the suspect’s family continued to insult, intimidate, and threaten their family on the grounds that they were responsible for the abscondment of their son.

They are also seeking police protection for their family members because of the persistent and enduring threats from the Ogbuja family, who they claim are relatively influential and politically connected.

“It is our considered view that the seemingly outright refusal of the police to apprehend Victor Ogbuja for prosecution has occasioned a grievous act of injustice, not only to the late Ochanya, but also patently poses a danger to innocent girls and women unaware of his predatory habit and antecedents.

“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,” the family added.

Ochanya was said to be five years old when she was taken from Ogene-Amejo village by her mother to live with Mrs Felicia Ogbuja, her relative, in Ugbokolo in search of a better primary school.

From age seven, the suspect allegedly started raping her repeatedly through the vagina and anus until she developed a medical condition diagnosed as “faecal and urinary incontinence”.

At the age of 13 years, when her health condition became aggravated, Ochanya revealed the cause of her medical predicament to her carer, Evangelist Enuwa Soo, in the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue.

On realising the gravity of her health condition, her carer moved Ochanya to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, for proper diagnosis.

In spite of efforts to cure her, Ochanya’s health condition continued to worsen as she was uncontrollably urinating and defecating on herself. Ochanya subsequently passed away on Oct. 17, 2018.

The medical report from the Benue State University Teaching Hospital given to the police command stated that Ochanya suffered “faecal and urinary incontinence, which was initially mild and progressively worsened” before her tragic death.

The suspect’s mother, Mrs Felicia Ogbuja, was, however, convicted and sentenced to five months imprisonment for her abdication of responsibility to Ochanya, which permitted the sexual assault against the teenager.

NAN