Fresh outrage has erupted across Nigeria as citizens demand justice for 13-year-old Ochanya Ogbanje, years after a Benue State High Court acquitted lecturer Andrew Ogbuja, accused, alongside his son, Victor, of repeatedly raping the teenager to death.
The renewed public anger follows a recent feature by African media outlet ZikokoMag, which reignited criticism of Nigeria’s justice system and its failure to protect victims of sexual violence.
Ogbuja, a lecturer at Benue State Polytechnic, was discharged and acquitted in April 2022 after Justice Augustine Ityonyiman ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. His son, Victor, remains at large.
The verdict came despite years of evidence and public outrage. During investigations, recordings captured Ochanya describing her abuse, which began when she was eight and continued until her death in 2018 from Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF)—a condition doctors linked to prolonged sexual assault.
In a parallel ruling, the Federal High Court in Benue found Felicia Ogbuja, Andrew’s wife and Ochanya’s aunt, guilty of negligence and sentenced her to five months in prison. Her conviction underscored contradictions in the legal process, as both cases stemmed from the same allegations.
Justice Ityonyiman based his decision on what he described as “contradictory autopsy reports” and the police’s failure to conduct DNA tests connecting Ogbuja to the assault. One report from the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, listed “natural causes,” while another from the Police Forensic Laboratory in Lagos tied her death directly to complications from sexual abuse.
Ochanya, the youngest of eleven children, was sent at age five to live with her aunt’s family in Ugboloko, Benue State, to continue her education after her village school closed. Instead, she endured years of sexual violence from her cousin Victor, and later, his father Andrew, while her guardians failed to inform her parents or seek medical help.
Her death in 2018 triggered a wave of protests and advocacy for justice reform. Now, nearly seven years later, outrage has reignited online under the hashtag #JusticeForOchanya, with activists urging authorities to reopen the case.
Investigative journalist Kiki Mordi described the acquittal as a reflection of Nigeria’s broken justice system.
“Nigeria allowed a man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl to death to walk free, and even return to teaching,” she said. “His acquittal is not an anomaly. Fewer than one in ten rape cases in Nigeria ever result in conviction.”
Human rights groups have renewed calls for federal and Benue State authorities to act, warning that continued inaction perpetuates impunity.
“Justice delayed must not remain justice denied,” one activist said. “Ochanya’s case must not fade into silence.”
