By Nchetachi Chukuwajah
Nigerians have renewed calls for justice in the case of 13‑year‑old Ochanya Ogbanje who died on October 17, 2018 from sexual abuse complications.
The calls gathered momentum as celebrities and politically-exposed persons, including Hilda Baci, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Aisha Yesufu, among others, have thrown their weight behind the cause.
Doctors had diagnosed Ochanya, a Junior Secondary School student at the Federal Government Girls College, Gboko in Benue State, with Vesico‑Vaginal Fistula (VVF), a complication attributed to prolonged sexual abuse, and she died shortly after.
With the trending #JusticeForOchanya across various social media platforms and offline, Nigerians are particularly demanding the arrest of Victor Ogbuja, the key suspect accused of serially raping her for over a period of five years, reportedly.
Victor, the son of a lecturer at the Benue State Polytechnic in Ugbokolo, Andrew Ogbuja, is still on the wanted list since 2018 over the case.
The wanted suspect and his father, Andrew Ogbuja, who are both maternal relations of the deceased, were accused of raping her until she fell ill and subsequently died.
However, the Benue State High Court in Makurdi, on April 22, 2022, acquitted Mr Ogbuja of raping and causing the death of Ochanya.
Yet, on the same day, the Federal High Court also in Makurdi, in a separate case, convicted his wife, Felicia Ochiga-Ogbuja, who was the direct guardian of Ochanya, for negligence, exposing Ochanya to rape.
The renewed call for justice to be served in the case comes days after Ochanya’s seventh death anniversary, which was held in Abuja.
Nigerians across various social media platforms are demanding that authorities reopen the case and apprehend Victor Ogbuja, even as a petition on Change.org, entitled “Justice for Ochanya,” is also gathering signatures.
Lending a voice to the calls on X (formerly Twitter), @IsabellaGeorgeW wrote, “Ochanya was just a girl. A child. She deserved care, not cruelty. Protection and not pain. And until predators are punished and the system protects our girls, we’ll keep chanting her name, Justice for Ochanya! We owe her truth, we owe her change, we owe her justice. #JusticeForOchanya.”
Former Big Brother Naija (BBN) Season 10 housemate, Kola Omotosho, tweeting @kolapo_ _o said, “We cannot claim to protect our future while our children live in fear. Child abuse must end. Justice for Ochanya, and for every child whose voice was silenced. #JusticeForOchanya,”
Beyond social media platforms, other steps, including donations, are ongoing to support the cause.
Announcing a N2 million donation to a crowdfunding platform opened for the cause, chef and two-time Guinness World Record holder, Hilda Baci, said the donation was to support organisations working with survivors of sexual abuse and the legal fight for justice in the case of Ochanya.
Baci described Ochanya as a girl who should have been safe and protected but was failed by those meant to care for her, stressing the need to support living survivors still healing from similar trauma.
While calling for community action against abuse, Baci said the pledge would be split between two credible NGOs working with rape and abuse survivors, selected with public input.
Also, the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in a post shared on her Instagram page on Thursday, October 30, said she was devastated to learn that the accused individuals in the case had been discharged and acquitted.
She urged the family of the late Ochanya to submit a formal petition to her office at the National Assembly to help seek justice.
The senator wrote, “Years ago, the heart-wrenching story of little Ochanya devastated me. I thought the perpetrators were in jail. Alas, they were discharged and acquitted.
“The family of the late Ochanya Ogbanje should write a petition to me: Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Room 2:05 Senate Wing, National Assembly Complex, Abuja. For our children, I stand for justice for Ochanya.”
Similarly, political activist, Aisha Yesufu, expressed sadness over the development, describing it as a failure on her part.
“I am in pain as I write this. Ochanya will forever remind me of my failures as a Nigerian adult. I failed her and many others. As I write this, I have a lump on my chest that hurts so badly.
“When the issue broke so many years ago we carried it even though we couldn’t save her. We didn’t protect her and prevent the pain her family has had to live with.
“Do you know what makes me elated in spite of the harrowing story? It is young Nigerians like you who have their voices and agencies and speak on the injustices,” she wrote.
