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."