The family of 13-year-old girl, Ochanya Ogbanje who was allegedly raped to death by Mr. Andrew Ogbuja, a lecturer at the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo and his son, Victor, has cried to the Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, over alleged threats to their lives and intimidation of witnesses in the trial of the suspects.
Late Ochanya’s eldest brother, Mr. Ameh Ejekwonyilo made the disclosure at an international press conference in Abuja.
Ameh said he had received death threats from family members and political associates of the Ogbuja family, adding that the lives of his parents and siblings as well as witnesses are under threat.
Addressing journalists at the joint press conference with the Federal Government Girls College Gboko Old Girls’ Association in Abuja, he revealed that a younger sibling to the suspects’ wife and mother, Mr. Inalegwu Frederick Ochiga, a personnel of the Nigeria Prison Service, Benue State Command, assaulted him at the premises of the Federal High Court in Makurdi, where he had gone to witness proceedings in the trial of Mrs Felicia Ochiga-Ogbuja in April this year.
He called on the nation’s police chief to investigate a petition he had written to the police force headquarters in Abuja in respect of the threats with a view to providing security for the deceased girl’s family and witnesses during the pendency of the suit.
Ameh equally appealed to the United Nations, the US government and other international agencies and embassies in Nigeria to come to their aid with a view to getting justice served in the tragic death of his kid sister.
In the same vein, the deceased girl’s family wondered why the police have yet to arrest and prosecute, Victor Ogbuja, the second suspect in the matter even after nearly a year since Ochanya’s tragic death.
It would be recalled that Ochanya died on 17 October, 2019, after battling complications arising from the prolonged sexual assaults she had suffered at the hands of the Ogbujas for several years while living with them.Ameh called on the IGP to immediately declare Victor Oguja wanted and launch a manhunt within and outside Nigeria for his arrest and prosecution.
He reiterated the family’s commitment to getting justice for the late Ochanya.In a brief remark, the President, FGGC Gboko OGA, FCT Chapter, Dr. Ngozi Adzodoh, called on the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, to follow through on his pledge to get justice served.
She lamented the epidemic of child sexual violations across the country and urged the federal government to declare a “national emergency” on the issue.Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Lemmy Ughegbe, Executive Director of Make A Difference (MAD) Initiative, a nongovernmental organisation that has been in the vanguard of fight against child sexual abuse, called for stiffer penalties for peadophiles.