Following calls for justice, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has petitioned the Senate to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Ochanya Ogbanje.
The petition, submitted on Wednesday during plenary on behalf of Inibehe Effiong Chambers, alleges attempts by some individuals to shield those responsible from accountability.
13-year-old Ochanya, a student of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Gboko, died in October 2018 after suffering health complications allegedly resulting from prolonged abuse while living with the Ogbuja family in Ugbokolo, Okpokwu Local Government Area.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan explained that Ochanya had lived with the Ogbuja family from age five and allegedly endured repeated sexual abuse by both father and son, which led to severe health complications, including vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) and fecal-urinary incontinence.
“This petition addresses the refusal to arrest and prosecute Victor and Andrew Ogbuja for the rape and death of 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje,” Akpoti-Uduaghan said. “She suffered severe violations for years, yet justice continues to be delayed and denied. This case represents a failure of the system to protect a child.”
The senator further highlighted alleged interference, intimidation of witnesses, and attempts to downplay the seriousness of the crime. She urged the Senate to ensure justice for the family and called for a comprehensive review of how children’s rights cases are handled in Nigeria.
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Responding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the details of the petition as horrifying before referring it to the Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions led by Senator Neda Imasuen (APC, Edo South), where “justice will be done to it.”
The committee is expected to investigate the circumstances of Ochanya’s abuse and death, as well as the apparent failures of justice. It may compel the state government to file the long-pending appeal.