• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Citizen NewsNG

....news at your finger tip

IG’s TEAM TAKES OVER PROBE OF UNIBEN STUDENT’S MURDER •Senate seeks stiffer Penalties for Rapists •OAU Students Protest

ByCitizen NewsNG

Jun 3, 2020

THE FEDERAL Government on Tuesday weighed in on the rape and murder last week of Miss Vera Omosuwa, a first-year student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN).
The government ordered that investigation into the attack be thorough.
The federal directive came as police headquarters, Abuja took over investigations into Omosuwa’s killing.
Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu ordered the immediate transfer of the investigations from the Edo State command to the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Omosuwa, 22, was raped and brutally killed by unknown assailants in a church in Benin City.
Force spokesman DCP Frank Mba, in a statement yesterday, said the IGP’s directive was sequel to the preliminary report from the team of investigators and forensic experts earlier deployed to assist the Edo State police command in the investigations.
He said, “The DIG in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), DIG Anthony Ogbizi Michael, will henceforth provide direct supervision and ensure speedy and thorough investigation of the case.
”In a similar vein, the IGP has ordered the immediate deployment of specialised investigators and additional investigation assets to all the Gender Desks Offices and the Juvenile Welfare Centres (JWC) across the country.
“This is to strengthen and enhance the capacity of the Units to respond to increasing challenges of sexual assaults and domestic/gender-based violence linked with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and other social ills within the country.
”Meanwhile, the IGP has called on members of the public to provide the police useful information that could aid investigations into ongoing cases of sexual assaults and domestic/gender-based violence across the country.”
The government directed the police to unravel the circumstances surrounding the gang-rape and murder of the undergraduate, as well as the reported sexual abuse of a minor in Jigawa State by 14 men, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed described the attack on Omosuwa as a cruel and barbaric act that offends human sensibility.
“It is said that the true measure of a society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members,’’ the minister said, assuring that the Federal Government will do everything possible to stem the growing tide of gender-based violence in the country.
It was gathered that Omosuwa’s killers have not been arrested, and that only the church guard, where she was attacked, was in custody.
The Senate on Tuesday advocated stiffer punishment for rapists to mitigate the increasing cases of rape against the girl-child in the country.
The Upper Chamber also called on the security agencies to strictly enforce laws against child marriages to protect the girl-child.
These resolutions of the Senate followed a motion by Senator Sandy Onuh on the recent death of two girls as a result of gender-based violence in Lagos and Edo states respectively.
A 16-year-old girl, Tina Ezekwe, was reportedly killed in Lagos when she was hit by bullets fired by policemen.
Two police officers, Assistant Superintendent of Police Theophilus Otobo and Inspector Oguntoba Olamigoke, have been reportedly arrested for being allegedly responsible for Ezekwe’s death.
The death of both girls generated outrage as Nigerians demanded justice for their killings.
Senator Onuh expressed concern, saying that if proactive measures are not taken to curb “this dastardly act, the cases will rise even further” and hinder the country’s growth.
Senator Biodun Olujimi (PDP-Ekiti) said a similar incident was being investigated in her state.
Olujimi said: “We have been speaking much and nothing much has been done about it. We didn’t imagine we will go the way of India where rape will become the rape of the people.”
Senator Akon Eyakenyi (PDP-Akwa Ibom) said that in her state, there is a case of a father who violated his daughter, and called for urgent intervention to stop the trend.
Wife of Edo State governor Betsy Obaseki, accompanied by the state’s deputy governor’s wife Mrs. Maryann Shaibu and others, visited the Omosuwa family to commiserate with them.
They were received by the father of the murdered 100-Level Microbiology student of UNIBEN, Elder Johnson Omosuwa, and his wife, at their residence in Benin.
Elder Omosuwa narrated his efforts to keep her innocent daughter alive, after she was discovered unconscious in the church auditorium, describing the victim as a well-behaved lady, who kept her virginity.
The bereaved father also stated that his lamentation was the fact that tears kept pouring from his daughter’s eyes, while she was in coma for four days at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), until she died on May 30, while the attack took place on May 27.
Mrs Obaseki called for an end to the violence against women and children in the state.
Also, students of Obafemi Awolowo University protested against incessant rape in Nigeria especially the killing of Omosuwa.
The students under the aegis of “Concerned Great Ife Students” converged in front of Obafemi Awolowo University gate, carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs.
Some of their placards read: “We want a sane society. #JusticeforUwa”, “No justification for rape”, “Don’t harbour rapists”, among others.

SHARE ON

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Solverwp- WordPress Theme and Plugin