Metro News
Bungled: Judge frees lecturer Ogbuja for fatal raping of 13-yr-old Ochanya Ogbaje over police failure to prove case
A Makurdi High Court in Benue State acquitted Andrew Ogbuja, a lecturer at the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, of serially raping 13 year-old schoolgirl, Ochanya Ogbaje.
To many, the judgement was a largely justice denied for the young victim.
Ogbuja was charged on 10 October, 2019 by the Benue state government, along with his son, Victor, who has since been on the run.
They were charged with the serial raping of the girl and causing her death in 2018.
Justice Augustine Ityonyiman, however, acquitted Ogbuja in his judgment, partly anchoring his decision on the conflict in the autopsy reports on Ochanya, tendered in court.
Victim of rape Ochanya Ogbaje
Ochanya was admitted to the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi for two months before she died on October 17, 2018.
It will be recalled that Ochanya, who was a JSS1 pupil of the Federal Government Girls College Gboko in Benue State at the time, died of complications linked to the alleged serial rape by Mr Ogbuja and his fugitive son.
Victor-Ogbuja : Fugitive son
Doctors diagnosed Ochanya with Vesico-Vaginal Fistula (VVF) – a disease attributed to the serial rape allegedly by the two men.
In a video before she died, she recounted her serial sexual abuse in the hands of the Ogbuja predators.
Delivering judgment on the case, Justice Ityonyiman held that the prosecution failed to prove the four counts against Mr Ogbuja.
He said the police investigators failed to subject the defendant to medical examination to match his specimen with the findings in the medical reports that were presented before the court.
In evaluating the evidence, the judge held that two autopsy reports from the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi and the Nigerian Police Forensic Laboratory in Lagos left him in a quandary.
“I cannot pick and choose which of the autopsy reports to rely on in reaching a just conclusion of this case,” he said.
Justice Ityonyiman added that while the autopsy report from the Medical Centre in Makurdi said Miss Ochanya died of “natural cause”, the one from the police forensic laboratory revealed that the deceased “suffered diseases that were related to sexual abuse.”
“I hereby acquit and discharge the defendant of all the four count-charge.”
But in a related case, Justice Mobolaji Olajunwo of the Federal High Court in Makurdi convicted Ogbuja’s wife, Felicia, for negligence in the rape of Ochanya.
Felicia Ogbuja was arraigned by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) over negligence that led to the rape and death of Ochanya.
The anti-trafficking agency accused her of failing in her duty to protect the deceased from being raped by her husband and son.
Justice Olajunwo held that the defendant failed in her duty to protect Ochanya from ‘being sexually abused by her son, Victor’.
According to her, the victim was being abused by Felicia’s son but the defendant who owed the girl the duty of care to ensure that she was protected from such an act failed in doing so, even when her daughter, Winifred, drew her attention to the sexual assault.
The judge said the defendant made it impossible for the NAPTIP investigating officer to see and interrogate Winifred in the course of the investigation of the matter.
Agreeing with the prosecution, she said “the evidence that Ochanya told the defendant (Mrs Ogbuja) about what was going on, was not successfully challenged,” and proved NAPTIP’s case.
Justice Olajunwo also held that Felicia failed to challenge the prosecution’s evidence that she “threatened to send Ochanya out of her house if she told anyone about the sexual abuse.
“This evidence has neither been challenged nor controverted. The defendant failed to perform her duty as it concerned the well-being of Ochanya, particularly as it comes to her protection from being sexually abused.”
“The fourth prosecution witness, in his testimony, said Ochanya upon being presented for medical examination complained of passing urine uncontrollably and had serious pain in the lower abdomen.
“When Ochanya was examined, it was discovered that the membrane covering the vagina opening was not there, which is an indication that Ochanya had been disvirgined,” the judge stated while recalling the prosecution’s evidence.
Felicia’s lawyer, Abel Onoja, pleaded for leniency and called two witnesses in frantic efforts to save his client.
Justice Olajunwo sentenced Felicia to five months imprisonment without an option of a fine, after listening to the plea for mercy.
“Taking into consideration the testimonies of witnesses that testified to the defendant’s character, the number of months contained in the law shall be reduced by the court.
“Therefore, the defendant is sentenced to five months imprisonment with no option of fine,” she held.
Ochanya in search of a sound education, had left her rural home at Ogene-Amejo for Ugbokolo township where she lived with the Ogbujas.
Felicia Ogbuja is said to be Ochanya’s maternal relation.
The Ogbujas residence, where they lived with the deceased, was said to be located on a street almost opposite the Emmanuel Primary and Secondary School where Ochanya obtained her primary education in Ugbokolo, Benue State.
It is not clear yet whether the Benue government will appeal Ogbuja’s acquittal.
Nineteen people were, on Sunday, burnt to death in an auto crash along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi state.
In a statement by Jonas Agwu, its public education officer, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said the accident involved a Dangote truck with registration details NSH680YJ and a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number KMC455ZE.
According to the FRSC, both vehicles suffered a head-on collision after a route violation by the truck, resulting in an inferno.
The agency said out of the all-male
22 passengers involved in the accident, three were rescued.
“The TYT bus loaded from Kano was on its lane on the highway when the Dangote Truck driver who drove all the way from Port Harcourt wrongfully overtook a vehicle & collided head-on with the bus. The impact of the collision resulted in an inferno that burnt the victims to death,” the statement reads.
“Unfortunately, 19 people out of the 22 victims were killed and 1 injured. The remaining 2 victims who got rescued by FRSC operatives without injuries survived the crash because they complied with traffic regulations on compulsory use of seatbelt.
“The corpses of the dead victims whose lives were claimed by the crash have been deposited at Okene General Hospital.”
Dauda Biu, the FRSC corps marshal, said the agency will continue its ongoing prosecution of drivers “who by their actions cause road traffic crashes in Nigeria”.
Biu further called on the judiciary and leadership of transport unions and other relevant stakeholders in the road transportation sector to join hands with the corps to ensure speedy and effective prosecution of offenders.
Two notorious drug kingpins, Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian and Agbo Chidike Prince, will now spend the rest of their lives in jail, following their arrests and prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The sentencing of the two drug kingpins was disclosed in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, and made available to Channels Television on Sunday.
He said that the journey of Uwaezuoke, a 43-year-old businessman to a lifetime in jail began when he was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on 19th March 2022 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after he was found to have ingested 100 big wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243 kilograms.
“He was subsequently arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 and was granted bail on certain conditions after he pleaded not guilty. He thereafter absconded, leading the court to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant against him.
“In a curious twist, Uwaezuoke was again arrested by NDLEA operatives on 1st August 2023, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos while attempting to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India through ingestion using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi.
“He was again arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in charge number FHC/L/554C/2023. He pleaded guilty to the two counts charge and was convicted and sentenced on 18th October 2023 to a total term of seven years of imprisonment or a fine of ₦1, 500,000.00. He paid the fine and was transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him.
“He was re-arraigned on 20th March 2024 at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, where he pleaded guilty again. Despite his plea, the court, noting his lack of remorse, the seriousness of drug-related offences and the fact that he is a repeated offender, convicted and sentenced him to life imprisonment,” the statement said.
In the case of 42-year-old Agbo Chidike Prince, Babafemi said he was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja during the outward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong on 21st October 2023 for ingesting 49 wraps of cocaine weighing 998.73grams.
“Upon his arraignment before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, the defendant pleaded guilty to the one count charge, prompting the prosecution to present evidence and review the facts of the case.
“Despite the plea of allocutus by the defendant’s counsel, the court, noting the nature of the case and the commercial quantity of the drug, emphasized the seriousness of drug-related offences, convicted and sentenced the defendant on 15th April, 2024 to life imprisonment.”
Meanwhile, NDLEA said its officers at the gate C departure hall of the Lagos airport on Friday 26th April arrested a passenger, Yahaya Danjuma Oturah, while attempting to export 4,000 pills of tramadol 225mg to Malpensa, Italy on an Ethiopian Airline flight.
The Agency further narrated, “The psychoactive substance was found concealed in women wears and granulated melon packed in the suspect’s backpack and another bag containing food items. In his statement, Oturah who is a frequent flyer confessed he was hired to courier the drug for 700 Euros on successful delivery of the consignment in Italy.
“In Bayelsa, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 24th April arrested 28-year-old Jennifer Iliya at Amarata area of Yenagoa for producing and distributing cakes laced with illicit drugs especially cannabis sativa. At the time of her arrest, substantial number of the drugged cakes weighing 1.5kg were recovered from her. A 20-year-old hair stylist, Josephine Odunu and a dispatch rider, Edesemi Ikporo, 30, had been arrested on Sunday 10th March by NDLEA operatives for in Yenagoa for a similar offence.
“Two suspects: Joseph Dadik, 47, and Bensha Yari, 32, were arrested with 24,180 ampoules of pentazocine injection weighing 135.5 kilograms at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, while Adamu Umar, 18, was nabbed with 20.700kg cannabis when his house in Shuware area of Mubi, Adamawa state was raided on Friday 26th April.
“No less than 310.7kg cannabis was recovered on Thursday 25th April when NDLEA operatives raided parts of Mushin in Lagos state. While 300kg was seized at Olatunji Street, Mushin, 10.7kg of same substance was retrieved from two suspects: Tijani Wasiu and Suleiman Aisha at Anifowose, Mushin.
“While Stanley Chukwudi, 43, was arrested with 5,900 ampoules of pentazocine injection at Sabon Gari area of Kano State on Thursday 25th April, a couple, Fredrick Odion, 53, and Gladys Odion, 52, were nabbed with 50kg cannabis at Iruekpen, Esan west LGA, Edo state by NDLEA officers on Wednesday 24th April.
“With the same zeal, the various commands of the Agency across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitisation lecture for students and staff of Federal Government College, Nise, Anambra; Royal Institute of Health Technology, Ifo, Ogun state; Akpugo-Eze High School, Oji-River, Enugu; Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa; and Jubilee Secondary School, Ore, Ondo state, among others.
“While commending the officers and men of the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services of the Agency for the diligent prosecution of Uwazuoke and Agbo cases, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) said the success rate of cases prosecuted by the agency has shown that there’s no escape route for those involved in the illicit trade of drug trafficking.
“He equally applauded those of MMIA, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Edo, Adamawa and Bayelsa Commands as well as their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their drug supply and drug demand reduction activities.”
-
News3 years agoNollywood Actress Nkechi Blessing speaks on plastic surgery, big butts
-
Entertainment2 years agoDJ Dimple Nipple dropped by longtime boyfriend after claiming D’Prince allegedly demanded sex for roles
-
News3 years agoPlus size rocks: Ghanaian plus size dancer who can’t travel by air because of her size
-
Privacy3 years agoSelf-imposed Oba vacates ‘palace’ after warnings by community
-
Sports2 years agoMeet Ashleigh Plumptre, the ‘Oyinbo’ member of Nigeria Super Falcons [Video]
-
Entertainment2 years agoIni Edo welcomes first child through surrogacy, speaks on past miscarriages
-
News3 years agoHow CCTV ’caught’ Baba Ijesha molesting minor
-
Opinion3 years agoLeave our community, Imobi orders self-imposed Oba