Ochanya’s demise painful – Gov Ortom

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue has said he was pained by the demise of Miss Ochanya Ogbanje who was sexually abused for five years by a polytechnic lecturer, Mr Andrew Ogbuja and his son, Victor.

Ortom stated this on Tuesday in Makurdi when groups numbering 10 protested from Benue State University (BSU) to Government House to register their anger over the death of Ogbanje.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Terwase Orbunde, Ortom said that he was saddened by the death of Ogbanje, stressing that her future was cut short by the duo.

”I feel pained because I have daughters. What if it were my daughter? The law must take its cause on this matter,” he said.

The governor said that such a dastardly act must be condemned in its entirety, adding that all the abused people should speak out so that the world would know their plight so that people would step in to arrest the situation.

He, however, admonished people against stigmatizing the victims of sexual abuse, stressing that if they were stigmatized most of them would be unwilling to make their cases public.

Also, the President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Omale Gideon Omale called for a review of the justice system to give room for quick dispensation of cases.

Omale further sued for the acceleration of the hearing of the case, stating that they would continue to monitor the case to the end to ensure that Ogbanje get justice even in death.

The NANS president appealed to the Benue Government to immediately relieve Ogbuja of his appointment and should not wait until the case was finally determined.

Mr James Ogbeche who spoke for Concerned Citizens said that Ogbanje needed justice and that was their topmost priority.