A Collaborative Quest for Justice for Ochanya
Man's inhumanity to man was again brought to the fore recently with the cruel death of 13-yearold Elizabeth Ochanya, who was raped to death, vaginally and anally, by two relatives-father and son. George Okoh reports on the nationwide outrage and the quest
Truth be told, the incidences of rape have continued because the country is not doing enough to curb it. The act in itself is bad, but worse when minors are the victim. To imagine the mental torture the deceased went through in itself should be a torture to sane minds, especially women
"Those responsible for the death of our dear Ochanya will have their Judgement one day with our Creator", those were the words of a heartbroken mother, Mrs. Ene Ogbaje, whose 13-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Ochanya was recently raped to death by two relatives. Ogbaje's offence was a passion to see her daughter, Elizabeth, who was five years old then, educated. Given the lack of schools in their village in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, she had sent her daughter to live with her cousin, one Mrs. Felicia Ogbuja and her family. Unknown to her, that turned out to be her greatest undoing. Her supposed family betrayed the trust imposed on them to ensure the minor received education.
For little Elizabeth, her journey to pain began from 2013 to 2018, when her aunty's husband, a knight, 51-year old Andrew Ogbuja, a senior lecturer in the Department of Catering and Hotel Management, Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, and his son, Victor Andrew Ogbuja, who is now at large, abused her serially through the vagina and anus under a period of six years, leading to her consequent death.
Her Ordeal Having lived with them since she was five, it came as a shock to the minor when she was eight and was first raped by her guardian's son in 2013. As is the modus operandi with such of his ilk, he warned her never to disclose it to anyone. That went on for a long time as she slept with from 2013 to 2015 until he was caught by his sister.
The sister dutifully reported the matter to their father, thinking justice would be served. Instead, after scolding Victor, the father took his place and took the molestation a notch up. He abused her both from the vagina and the anus. That depravation from both father and son was her lot until she was diagnosed of having Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) and other related deceases.
Her Rescue When all hope seemed lost, her rescue came, albeit a bit late. Ochanya was forced to confide in her mother in June this year, who queried her sister and her husband. As expected, they both denied the allegation.
Going a step further, Evangelist Enuwa Soo, Founder of Restorer of Path care Foundation, Otukpo, became involved. But at that point, Ochanya had already been inflicted with VVF. She was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, where she was until her death on October 17, 2018. The ailment VVF,
is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder (or vesico) and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault.
Appearance in Court Given the lack of remorse shown by the duo, the case was taken to court. While Andrew Ogbuja was arraigned on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and rape, his son on the other hand, fled and has since been placed on the wanted list of the police.
The rape case in August was dragged to Makurdi Upper Area Court and according to the First Information Report (FIR) that was filed before the trial Magistrate, Mr S. D. Kwen, the accused was dragged before the court for “criminal conspiracy and rape,” which he allegedly perpetrated alongside his son, Victor Andrew Ogbuja, who is now at large.
The FIR with file no: CR80/2018 and dated August 13, 2018 reads: “Criminal Conspiracy and rape: on the 8/8/2018 at about 1200hrs FIDA, Benue State Chapter, Makurdi, in company of the victim's mother (name withheld) of Okpokwu LGA of Benue State, came to Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Makurdi and reported that, on the 28/06/2018 at about 1000hrs, the victim's mother reported at FIDA office Benue State Chapter, Makurdi that, sometime in 2018 February, when her daughter (name withheld) age 13-years-old was sick and staying with her cousin by name Felicia Ogbuja (wife of the accused) and was admitted at Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi.
“She told her that when she was staying with her cousin by name Felicia Ogbuja of Ugbokolo Town in 2013 to 2015, the son of the said cousin by name Victor Andrew of same address had canal knowledge of her at different locations. She further stated that the husband to her cousin by name Andrew Ade Ogbuja also had canal knowledge of her without her consent between 2013 to 2015, which is the cause of her illness."
The Minor's Testimony Ochanya's tragic story came to the fore in August 2018 when she narrated her ordeal before a chief Magistrate court in Makurdi. The deceased, prior to her death was a Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1 student of Federal Government College, in Gboko, Benue State. In her statement to the court, she disclosed that her guardian's son first raped her in 2013 and warned her never to disclose it to anyone.
She said: "It all started in 2013 when I turned five and came to live with my mother's sister in Ugbokolo because there was no school in my village. So when l was eight, the son started sleeping with me and when the sister caught him, she reported to their father and he scolded him.
"From there, the father also started doing same thing by sleeping with me and l told my mother. Then my mother told my elder sister who later took me to Makurdi for check up. So last year September when l went to school and l felt sick and l was taken to Federal Medical Centre Makurdi where l spent two months and five days before l was discharged. In the hospital, they checked me and discovered that what my aunty's son and his father did to me was actually affecting me and responsible for my condition. My mother went to confront my aunty and the husband but they did not take the matter serious and that is why we brought the case to here. I want my health back."
However, despite her plea to regain her health, she never made it as she died as a result of the inhumane treatment meted to her continually by two adults who should have known better.
Accused's Denial When the accusations were thrown at him, Ogbuja according to a source denied the allegation against him. He said Ochanya was a troubled child who his family wanted to help. He further claimed his enemies were taking advantage of the situation to spread false allegationss against him to bring him down.
He however said he was not certain if his son actually slept with Ochanya, adding that it was the reason he asked the court to allow him settle the matter in a family way since all the parties involved are one family. When the case came up in August, he admitted that although the victim had been living with him since the age of five, he however said he was being framed on trump up charges.
He said: “I am most surprised at being here. I was detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department from where I was brought to court today. It was a completely forged and arranged allegation against me. I know nothing about the charges against me."
The Remand However, despite his claims of innocence, the trial Magistrate who declined jurisdiction in the matter, wondered why a man of the accused's standing would be framed up if he had nothing to do with the alleged crime. “I don't know how an allegation of this magnitude would be made against a man of this standing without him being involved in its commission,” the magistrate wondered.
At the proceedings, Ogbuja's lawyer, Mr. David Ojile, had urged the court to admit his client to bail. The defence lawyer argued that there was no direct link between the alleged crime and his client.
Prior to the minor's death, the accused, who spoke through his counsel, Ojile also pleaded with the judge to grant him bail to enable him go home and resolve the matter within the family. He had equally promised to take full responsibility for the treatment of the victim, but the judge, Justice S. D. Kwen had rejected the plea and sent the lecturer to Makurdi Federal Prison.
Her Death After five months of undergoing treatment for VVF, she gave up the ghost on October 17, 2018, due to complications from the ailment. According to Soo, who ended up as her caregiver, the death of the minor was a devastating blow. She said at that point, Ochanya had been in her custody as she has been suffering from VVF, a major cause of unnecessary and avoidable suffering for young women.
According to Soo, "Ochanya had been with me for sometime, so, her death was traumatising. I was also sick at the time she was in the hospital, so she died in my presence. She was brutalised with sex at a very early age and this really affected her."
She called on the government and the general public to assist and not to allow the girl to die in