Inibehe Effiong@InibeheEffiong
REPLY TO WINIFRED OGBUJA
Hello @Winifunds,
It is offensive that you had the audacity to go on the record to trivialize your role in the exploitation of the late Ochanya Ogbanje.
Ochanya’s family is particularly offended by paragraphs 4 and 5 of your statement where you stated as follows:
“For clarity, in 2013, I was a student in boarding school in SS2 and had only just gone on vacation after my mock examinations. At the time, I was about 12 years old and was not present at the location where these events are being alleged to have occurred. This has been established in the course of legal processes.”
“I did not witness any act of abuse as has been suggested in some narratives, and this position has also been reflected in the legal proceedings connected to this matter.”
For the sake of unsuspecting members of public, the following facts are worthy of note:
1. Assuming without conceding that you were “about 12 years old” as at 2013, you became 17 years of age as at 2018 when your father, Andrew Ogbuja, and your mother Felicia Ogbuja were arrested by the Police and NAPTIP respectively.
2. No one asked you to give evidence while you were 12, as at the time of investigation, you were about 17 years old (again, going by your own assertion).
3. Winifred, claimed that she was about 12 years old in 2013. But, her younger brother, Victor Ogbuja, was about 20 years old and in his final year at the University of Agriculture in Makurdi as at 2018.
4. Victor was eventually expelled from the University following a report made against him to the University by NAPTIP.
5. You stated boldly that you didn’t witness any act of abuse and that this fact “has been reflected in the legal proceedings connected to this matter.”
6. Apart from the fact that a witness testified under oath at the Federal High Court in Makurdi that Winifred knew about the sexual exploitation of the late Ochanya, it is important to inform Nigerians that the mother of Winifred appealed against her conviction and lost.
7. In fact, the Court of Appeal made a very direct finding that Winifred knew about the sexual exploitation of Ochanya. The Court of Appeal in dismissing the appeal of Felicia, held thus at page 19 of the judgement:
“The harm suffered includes not only the illnesses she suffered but also the abuse itself which affect her well-being, the conduct of the Appellant is highly condemnable to have allow such heinous crime to take place under her watch even when her own daughter brought to her attention the sexual exploitation of Ochanya she did nothing to protect the innocent girl who is now late as a result
of the harm done to her. The Appellant I hold does not deserved any sympathetic consideration of this Court.
8. The Court of Appeal also found that your mother, your father and other members of your family made efforts to compromise justice. The Court found as follows at page 20:
“In fact the Appellant, her husband and some of their family members made efforts towards that direction as they bought drinks and kolanuts to beg PW1, the
father of late Ochanya that the matter be resolved within the family. See page 166 of the record.”
9. By law, a child who has not attained the age of 14 years is a competent witness in a judicial proceedings and can give unsworn evidence - “if in opinion of the court, he is possessed of sufficient intelligence to justify the reception of his evidence and understands the duty of speaking the truth”. However, “a child who has attained the age of 14 shall give sworn evidence in all cases”.
See Section 209 of the Evidence Act, 2011.
10. At the commencement of the trial of your parents in 2019, you were no longer a child.
11. By the way, the exploitation lasted beyond year 2013 mentioned by Winifred.
12. The concurrent findings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal established that you had direct knowledge of the sexual exploitation of Ochanya.
Evidence is attached.
Stop dancing on the grave of Ochanya.
