A renewed call for justice in the case of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje has reached the National Assembly as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and prominent human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, have submitted a formal petition to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The petition seeks a thorough investigation into the prolonged delay in prosecuting the alleged perpetrators of the teenager’s abuse.
The petition, filed by Inibehe Effiong Chambers on behalf of the Ogbanje family, urges the Senate to probe the seven-year failure of authorities to arrest Victor Ogbuja, who is alleged to have been central to the prolonged s3xual assault that led to Ochanya’s death in 2018.
According to the petition, Ochanya, who hailed from Ogene-Amejo in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, was sent at the age of five to live with a maternal relative, Mrs Felicia Ogbuja, in Ugbokolo to enable her access basic education.
Instead of refuge, the young girl was reportedly subjected to years of repeated s3xual abuse by a lecturer, Mr. Andrew Ogbuja, and his son Victor.
The petition states that Ochanya was “repeatedly r@ped through both v@ginal and anal routes” from about age eight, leading to severe medical complications, including vesico-vaginal fistula which left her incontinent. She died in October 2018.
It notes that Victor Ogbuja fled in 2018 when the matter became public and has neither been arrested nor prosecuted despite the Nigeria Police Force being fully aware of the allegations.
His father, Andrew Ogbuja, was discharged and acquitted by the Benue State High Court in 2022 for lack of direct evidence linking him to the crime. Efforts by Ochanya’s family to have the Benue State Government appeal the verdict were unsuccessful.
The petition further recalls that Mrs. Felicia Ogbuja was convicted by the Federal High Court in Makurdi for neglect of duty and sentenced to five months imprisonment, a sentence later affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
