Ochanya Obaje, a 13-year-old girl, who died on October 17 after being raped allegedly by a lecturer of Benue State Polytechnic, Andrew Ogbuja, and his son, Victor, has been buried.
Premium Times reports that Ochanya was buried on Friday in her hometown, Ogene Amejo, Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State.
A family member of the deceased who only identified himself as Innocent, in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, said the family calls for fair prosecution of the suspects.
“It was sad to see the little girl laid to rest. We call for the sanction of the lecturers by the school where he works. Sexual molestation was what the victim experienced. It is a sad thing for us.”
The victim, a Junior Secondary School 1 student at the Federal Government College, Gboko, Benue State, died from complications of five years of anal and vaginal rape which led to Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) and other health complications.
This occurred when she was living with the family.
While Mr Ogbuja was arrested by the police, arraigned before a Makurdi Upper Area Court in August 2018 and remanded in prison, his son fled.
The death has led to protests by several civil society organisations in Abuja, Makurdi and other parts of Nigeria.
Mr Ogbuja has been remanded in prison till the next date of hearing of the matter in court on November 29.
Reacting to this, Aisa Dania, a rights activist, told PREMIUM TIMES that civic groups will continue to make sure that justice is done.
“From our end, we will continue to make sure that justice is done. Not just for Ochanya but also for all other children who have been molested. It is high time government began to know that these children are indeed the future of the country and as such, they must be properly looked after,” she said.