Senator Stella Oduah, UNIBEN, POCACOV call for justice for raped, murdered UNIBEN student; IGP assures

Senator Stella Adaeze Oduah, representing Anambra North district in the National Assembly, has condemned in strong words, the rape and murder of Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa in a church in Benin, Edo State.

Senator Oduah, in a statement, said “I am dumbfounded and utterly gutted at this unfortunate turn of events and I join every sane mind out there to call for the immediate apprehension of these cold hearted murderers who took a precious life they couldn’t give in the house of God.

“My heart goes out to Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa’s family and I pray that God grants them the fortitude to bear this great and senseless loss.

“May our children be protected from evil and unreasonable men and may such despicable acts never crop up again.

“#JusticeForUwa,” Senator Oduah insisted.

Reacting, to the incident, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, while condemning the attack, commiserated with the family, friends and colleagues of Miss Omozuwa and called for calm,  assuring that “the Force will surely bring the perpetrators of the callous act to book in the shortest possible time.”

A statement by DCP Frank Mba, Force Public Relations Officer,  which communicated the IGP’s assurance also stated that as part of deliberate and concerted efforts by the Nigeria Police High Command to unravel the circumstances surrounding the brutal attack and unfortunate death of Miss Omosuwa, the IGP had “deployed additional investigations aids and forensic support to Edo State Police Command to complement and expedite actions in the ongoing investigations into the unfortunate incident.”

Meanwhile, the Management of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), on Monday, visited the family of Late Miss Omozuwa to commiserate with them on the death of their daughter.

The Management, led by the Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Patrick Igbinaduwa, described the murder of the institution’s 100 level student as unfortunate and evil.

In a statement issued in Benin, Prof. Igbinaduwa called on relevant authorities to step in and fish out the perpetrators of the evil act.

“The delegation conveyed the condolence message of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami, and her strong condemnation of the evil acts of rape and murder perpetrated against the late student.

“She had begun to show a lot of promise in her educational pursuit,” Igbinaduwa said.

The Governing Council of UNIBEN also commiserated with the Omozuwa family and the entire university community over the incident.

The acting Chairman of the council, Dr Daniel Mwanmut, in a statement issued on Monday by the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, described the actions of the perpetrator(s) as heineous and inhumane.
Mwanmut urged the family, university authorities, members of staff and students of the institution to take solace in the fact that the young girl lived a focused life.
He also called on the Edo government and law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned to fish out those involved in the gruesome murder and bring them to book.

The Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), equally condemned the act.

The National Coordinator of POCACOV, CSP Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement on Monday in Enugu, said that the situation was unacceptable, barbaric and uncivilised.

Omozuwa, 23, was allegedly attacked and wounded by yet to be identified hoodlums while studying inside the church located at Amadasun Street, Ohovbe Ikpoba Hill, Benin City, in Edo.

The 100-level student died as a result the incident.

Amaraizu noted that the incident “does not speak well for our youth’’.

According to him, our youth should be law abiding by shunning acts capable of triggering illicit activities.

He said: “We thank God that police operatives have stepped into the unfortunate incident.

“But we plead with members of the public to rally round the police to ensure that those behind this dastardly act are unmasked and brought to book.

“On our part as a campaign body of the Police, we shall continue to consult and mobilise different stakeholders in line with the tenets of community-oriented policing.

“This is with a view to ensuring that we provide better alternatives to the youth.

“POCACOV intends to give the youth direction that will save them from cultism and other vices through community-based programme of safer school/community.

”This is in order to achieve safety and security in line with goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) of the SDGs’’, the national coordinator said.

POCACOV is an initiative of the Police Force aimed at saving the youth from cultism and other vices.

This is done through advocacy, awareness creation, sensitisation, re-orientation, school and community outreaches.

The campaign represents a new approach by the police in combating cultism, sexual and gender-based violence, substance abuse, associated violence and other vices through various stakeholders’ engagement programmes.

Omozuwa, a 23-year-old student of UNIBEN was raped by a gang of unknown men on May 27 and died few days later in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.