How Nigeria Failed 13-Year-Old Ochanya — Again

Seven years after the heartbreaking story of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje first shook the nation, Nigerians are once again demanding justice — reigniting the fire that JolibaLive first reported in its 2018 special feature, “As Nation Sinks into Moral Quagmire, Ochanya, Another Rape Victim, Is Buried”.

That earlier report chronicled a young girl’s pain and Nigeria’s collective shame. Now, a fresh storm of anger is sweeping across the country after new media coverage reminded citizens how the system failed her — and continues to fail victims of sexual violence.

The outrage was triggered by a recent investigative feature by ZikokoMag, which revisited the disturbing case and the controversial acquittal of Andrew Ogbuja, a senior lecturer at the Benue State Polytechnic.

Ogbuja was accused — alongside his son, Victor — of repeatedly raping his niece, Ochanya, until she developed Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) and eventually died in 2018.

In April 2022, Justice Augustine Ityonyiman of the Benue State High Court acquitted Andrew, ruling that the prosecution had “failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.” His son, Victor, remains at large.

That verdict, critics say, exposed deep rot in Nigeria’s justice system — from poor investigations to conflicting autopsy reports.

While one report from the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, cited natural causes, another from the Nigeria Police Forensic Laboratory in Lagos directly linked Ochanya’s death to sexual abuse complications.

When the Law Protects the Powerful

Ironically, the same year Andrew walked free, another court found his wife, Felicia Ogbuja, guilty of negligence for failing to protect the child.

She was sentenced to just five months in prison under Nigeria’s Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.

Under Section 13(4)(b) of the Act, anyone who fails to prevent an act of trafficking or sexual exploitation commits an offence, punishable by imprisonment or a fine. Yet, activists say, this law has rarely protected children like Ochanya.

“Justice delayed must not remain justice denied,” said a rights campaigner in Makurdi. “What message do we send to abusers when even clear evidence cannot convict?”

Born in Ogene-Amejo, Benue State, in March 2005, Ochanya was the youngest of eleven children. When her village school shut down, her parents sent her to live with her aunt, Felicia, and her husband Andrew — a decision that turned fatal.

By age eight, she was already a victim. First abused by Victor, her cousin, and later by Andrew himself. Despite visible illness, neither her aunt nor her uncle informed her parents.

Their daughter, Winifred, later confirmed in testimony that both men violated Ochanya over several years.

By 2018, while attending the Federal Government Girls’ College, Gboko, Ochanya could barely walk. Her body bore the scars of years of abuse. She died at 13 — a child consumed by a crime that should have been prevented.

Public Fury and Renewed Campaigns

Following ZikokoMag’s recent report, journalist Kiki Mordi rekindled public attention, writing: “I still have that nasty feeling I had when I read about little Ochanya seven years ago. She would have been 20 today.”

Her post reignited the #JusticeForOchanya movement online, with thousands signing a new Change.org petition calling for the reopening of the case and disciplinary action against the lecturer.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, fewer than 10% of rape cases in Nigeria ever result in conviction — a figure campaigners say explains why predators act with impunity.

In its 2018 feature, JolibaLive wrote that “Nigeria must decide whether to remain a society that excuses evil or one that defends its children.” That statement remains painfully true today.

You can read JolibaLive’s original 2018 report here.

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