Skip to main content

ACUF condemns prevalent rape cases, demands government intervention

Reactions have continued to trail the death of a 13-year old rape victim, Ochanya Elizabeth, who died of complications from vesicovaginal fistula (VVF), following alleged incessant rape by her uncle, Andrew Ogbuja, a staff of Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, and his son, Victor Ogbuja, a final-year student at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.

The duo were said to have serially abused the 13-year-old girl since she was eight, even as medical examinations showed that Ochanya developed vesicovaginal fistula, a condition in which she continuously dripped urine, following damage to her bladder.

Lending its voice on the ugly incident, a non governmental organization (NGO), Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF), condemned in totality the prevalent rate at which young girls and women are raped in states across the federation.

In a statement made available to the media yesterday in Abuja, the founder of ACUF, Mr Chiwuike Uba, condemned rape in all forms, especially the avoidable death of Ochanya and implored state governments to domesticate the Child Rights Act and Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.

The statement read in part: "The incident involving Ochanya is a sad one. ACUF joins other human rights activists to condemn rape in all forms and demand that justice should prevail in her case. We are talking about a 13 year old girl whose life was cut short, because of man's inhumanity to man. The culprits must be brought to book; in order to serve as deterrent to others.

"According to a 2014 report by UNICEF on Violence Against Children in Nigeria, between 2012 and 2013, about 30 per cent of women in Nigeria experienced one form of domestic violence or another, with one in four females reported experiencing sexual violence in childhood, with approximately 70% reporting more than one incident of sexual violence. In the same study, it was found that 24.8% of females’ ages 18 to 24 years experienced sexual abuse prior to age 18, of which 5.0% sought help, with only 3.5% receiving any services.

"Therefore, the sad incident involving Ochanya is a wake up call for government to live up to its responsibility of protecting lives and property of citizen, especially hapless children. It is high time that the Child Rights Act and VAPP law were domesticated in states across the federation. As citizens, we have to work towards rebuilding our society to ensure that young children are saved the trauma and abuse resulting from working as houseboys and housemaids."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stop inflicting economic hardship on Ebonyians with tax demands, ex-SSG implores Umahi

Former Secretary to the State Government of Ebonyi State, Professor Benard Odoh, has implored the Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. David Nweze Umahi, to desist from inflicting economic hardship on Ebonyians. In an open letter he made available to Paulokahblog Friday morning, Odoh said that, "as a way of cushioning the devastating effects of the covid-19 pandemic on Ebonyi’s struggling economy, there is urgent need to jettison the collection of tenement rates/ground rents from landlords, excessive/forceful drive for quarry haulage levies and waiving of personal income taxes".  Odoh regretted that, despite the efforts of the state government in policing its borders against the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebonyi State, as of May 21, has recorded 13 cases and expressed hope that the situation would not get worse in the state in particular and Nigeria in general, even as he pledged support for the state government in ensuring that the active cases are managed successfully "to t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Don't quit by Edgar Albert Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all uphill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns. As everyone of us sometimes learns. And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man; Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup; and he learned too late when the night came down, how close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and when you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems afar; so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Ebonyi State is absent at national sports festival- Umahi

The Ebonyi Government on Saturday gave reasons for the non participation of its athletes at the on-going National Sports Festival (NSF) in Abuja. Mr Charles Akpuenika, the state’s Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the government was concentrating on locally-organised sporting events to unearth hidden talents. Akpuenika noted that the government organised several sporting events in 2018 as the talents discovered would be groomed to equitably represent the state in zonal and national competitions. “We have organised the inaugural David Umahi Tertiary Institutions Games (DUMTIGA) where several talents were discovered from the participating tertiary institutions in the state. “The state also organised the David Umahi Para-military games where security agencies to promote unity among the agencies and ensure the fitness of their officers. “The school sports competition which was last organised in 2008 is presentl...
Post a Comment
Read more