More women have come forth to accuse a detained Nigerian lecturer of s*xual assault in Benue state. Mr. Ogbuja, sitting to the far right, is awaiting the start of the trial for alleged r*ping of Ochanya Ogbanje.
Those were the words of a 30-year-old former student of the Benue State Polytechnic, who narrated a conversation she allegedly had with a suspended lecturer of the institution, Andrew Ogbuja, to us in a telephone interview.
This newspaper contacted the woman, along with other students, who opened up on various encounters with Mr Ogbuja, after the case of his alleged involvement in serial r*pe of a 13-year-old girl, Ochanya Ogbanje, broke out.
In a tone suggesting disgust, the woman who is now a member of the National Youth Service Corps said:
The lady who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity told this newspaper that she was confronted with such threats after Mr Ogbuja tried without success to r*pe her.
“Within minutes, Mr Ogbuja began telling me that the project supervisor liked me and that I am not different from other girls. I tried to ‘talk him down’ on his proposals, but my efforts appeared futile,”
According to the lady, Mr Ogbuja soon became very daring and scary.
Poor Prosecution
Mr Ogbuja is currently facing trial for allegedly r*ping 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje repeatedly till the young girl became infected with the Vesicohoneypotl Fistula (VVF).
This development resulted in her untimely death in October 2018.
Mr Ogbuja and his son, Victor, are suspected of having raped the child for several years before her death.
Activists say six months after security operatives arrested Mr Ogbuja, the case has not progressed speedily as expected.
While Mr Ogbuja’s son remains at large, the suspended lecturer has cited the prosecution’s unnecessary delay in amending the charge as grounds for seeking his release on bail.
After writing the court on January 10 and stating that a prima facie case of culpable homicide had been established against the suspects, the Benue State Ministry of Justice prosecuting the matter failed to amend the charge to include the details, over a month after.
According to section 341 of the criminal procedure code, which guides the justice system in Benue State;
Unless the case against the suspended lecturer and knight of the Catholic Church is amended to include alleged homicide, Mr Ogbuja may soon regain his freedom.
More Students Open Up
Another woman, a Benue Polytechnic student, told us that her encounter with Mr Ogbuja had haunted her for the past seven years.
The lady, who explained that Mr Ogbuja was regarded more as a close friend and an uncle alleged that
According to the 29-year-old woman, who resides now in Abuja with her family, the problem began after she got married during her school days and returned to school.
“After I got pregnant, towards the end of our time in school, I left and gave my SIWES logbook to him to help me submit.
“I never knew that was a grave mistake. I just gave the logbook to him, without any evidence. Mr Ogbuja later denied; saying I did not give anything to him. He, however, confided in a friend saying he did that to ‘get back at me’ for turning down his romantic advances. He added that the only way to get the logbook back is if I agreed to get ‘intimate’ with him.
“And the department was clear in its directive, that we would not get our result, without the logbook. At that point, I got frustrated and decided just to let the result be,”
A male student who asked that his name be protected, also spoke about Mr Ogbuja.
The young man, who said he held an official position on behalf of his classmates added that Mr. Ogbuja was always careful not to confront his male targets directly,
According to the student, Mr Ogbuja had such a firm grip of the department ”that prevented students from daring him”.
In yet another interview, another student who said she had lived in Mr Ogbuja’s family home a few years ago, and added that the senior lecturer is
The student, who was also afraid of victimization, spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, on the condition of anonymity.
She described as unfortunate her failure to recognize the late victim’s pains, during her stay at the Ogbuja’s house.
We could not independently substantiate these allegations. The newspaper could not also get reactions from the suspect as he is presently in police detention.
Dismal Trend
According to Ronke Ojeikere, the South-south zonal coordinator, National Council of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria, the attitude of the society towards rape victims, especially children has become a major problem.
She added that the situation had forced women of all ages to remain silent, in a manner that requires urgent attention.
In 2017, the United States of America, known to have one of the world’s largest population of vocal women, experienced a remarkable outburst from victims of segxwal abuse following the introduction of the “Me too” hashtag.
The hashtag was introduced by American actress, Alyssa Milano, to encourage women like her to speak out against renowned movie producer, Hervey Weinstein who had been involved in several allegations of rape.
According to American newspaper, The Guardian, 4.7 million people around the world, joined the #Me too conversation, within 24 hours after it was launched in October 2017.
The figure included over 50 women like British actress Lysette Anthony who told the police, following the outcry, that she was raped by Mr Weinstein in 1982.
Many of the affected women like Ms Anthony did not report their cases to respective authorities before the social media campaign.
Another factor is the socio-economic situation of the country, which has resulted in many parents entrusting their children to wards, like in the case of late Ochanya.
The late Miss Ogbanje journeyed to the Ogbuja’s in search of a qualitative education.
‘Friendly Enemies’
According to a survey conducted by the UNICEF in 2015, the major perpetrators of violence against children of Ochanya’s age include parents and biological relatives.
Interestingly, the survey found the second most prevalent perpetrators of violence against children are mothers of such children with 41 percent involvement in such violations, while the stepfathers were found to be the most prevalent perpetrator, with 58. 8 percent prevalence rate of cases reported.
Equally interesting is the fact that 50 percent of the segxwally abused children within that age, was raped at the homes of their perpetrators.
Also, over 70 percent of these victims reported the cases only to their families, while only three percent of segxwal abuse cases made it to formal or professional service providers from female children and five percent from males, according to the report.
Even where some cases are reported, a controversial agreement is sometimes reached between parents and culprits, forcing an abrupt end to the case in court.
But according to Ngozi Ikenga, Chairperson of the International Federation of women Lawyer; FIDA, Abuja chapter:
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