Tears rolled down their eyes like a stream; eyelids were swollen from nonstop crying; their lips trembled and for a long time they could not utter a word.
The mother of the deceased, Jane Omozuwa breathed heavily and rapidly, and when she was about to speak, she burst into tears, and when her husband, Johnson Omozuwa tried to console her, his own eyes became misty.
She sobbed inconsolably and with a trembling voice, her first words were, “Oh God! Why allow this to happen to our daughter? So, we will be dancing at our daughter’s grave”.
This was the mournful story of the parents and loved ones of the 22-year-old Uwaila Omozuwa, who was allegedly raped, and later died from the sustained injury and trauma inflicted on her by her assailants.
Uwaila, a first-year student of the Department of Microbiology, University of Benin (UNIBEN), till her sudden demise, kept her head high up and was determined to achieve set goals that would set her on the path to future accomplishments.
Little did she know that the burning desire to accomplish remarkable things would be extinguished and her future tragically cut short.
The young lady; an avid reader, never knew an untimely death was lurking around when she went to one of the parishes of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), to study like she always did.
On that fateful day, she carried her books to the Pentecostal church sited along Ikpoba Hill axis of Benin City, to study, when her assailants pounced on her, raped her and savagely smashed her head with a fire extinguisher.
The 22-year-old who lay unconscious on the floor in a pool of her own blood was rushed to the hospital; sadly, she could not pull through.
“We rushed her to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH); they conducted test but the doctors said this is head injury and there is no assurance of survival (meaning it is 50/50). However, they promised to do their best and which they did. Unfortunately, I lost her on Saturday,” Joy Omozuwa, mother of the deceased, mumbled.
The 49-year-old mother who said the late Uwaila was the second daughter, described her as the most decent and intelligent child in the house.
“What happened to my child is very painful because I never expected she will die this way. For the past five years, she always went to the church to read. My daughter liked reading and didn’t want to get carryover. So, on that day, she packed her books like the way she normally did, and left for church, where she normally read.
“So, I waited till the time she normally comes home because we agreed that she would always come home early because she had an eye defect which didn’t allow her to see properly at night.
“On that day, I called her at about 5pm to come home to eat, but it wasn’t successful. Later that day, I saw three missed calls on my phone from a friend that resides close to the church. Immediately, I returned the call and she told me to come as soon as possible that something bad had happened,” she recalled in tears.
According to her, “On reaching there, they told me they had already loosed what they used in tying her but she made a snap with her finger to signify she was still alive, and she had been moved to the hospital. I was told they used fire extinguisher to hit her head.
“Instantly, I went to the hospital and saw blood stains on her body and the dress she wore. She was bleeding from the ear, nose and there was a big cut on her head. I could not bear it and started crying. I carried handkerchief and cleaned the blood in her body; while she was breathing slowly.”
The father of the deceased, Johnson Omozuwa, called on security agencies to thoroughly investigate and fish out those behind the death of his daughter, Uwaila.
“I want the authorities and security agencies to dig into the root of this matter; I don’t want my daughter to die in vain,” he said.
“I saw my daughter in a pool of her own blood and I ran to the police and the police refused to go with me.
“I was the one that went to report the matter to the police that night but police refused to go with me to the scene of the incident till the following day. Neutral team should be sent by the police to investigate this matter,” he said.
The death of Uwa has led to protest with the hashtag “JusticeForUwa” in Benin City and stirred reactions from activists and notable figures, especially Nigerians on social media, seeking for justice and demanding a stop to rape in Nigeria.
Barely 24-hours after the news of her death went viral, protesters, including Uwa’s siblings, students of the University of Benin, friends of the deceased and members of the public stormed the headquarters of Edo State Police Command to seek justice for her.
The protesters, wearing black attire and carrying placards with inscriptions such as ‘Justice for Uwa’, ‘Say no to rape’, ‘Enough is Enough,’ marched from the King’s Square area of Benin City and terminated at the state police command headquarters.
Receiving the group of protesters, Ayoola Ajala, deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, assured them that investigation to unravel the circumstances that led to her death was ongoing and arrests had already been made in connection with Uwaila’s murder.
More so, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu has ordered immediate transfer of the investigation to the Force Headquarters, Abuja following preliminary investigation from the team of forensic experts earlier deployed to help the state command.
Sequel to her death, the National Assembly called for stiffer penalties for rape offenders in the country and urged State Houses of Assembly to amend the criminal and penal codes to ensure adequate punishment for perpetrators of the heinous act.
They also condemned increased violence against young girls in the country and called for immediate investigations into the case.
Today, rape is gradually becoming an insoluble problem to every girl child in Nigeria; perhaps, this will change once the state legislative houses heed to the advice.
As part of the government’s efforts to stem the tide of rape and other forms of gender-based violence, Edo State government says it is collaborating with consultants in domesticating a sex offenders’ register.
Chairperson, Edo State Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Team (SGBV-RT), Yinka Omorogbe said the state government remains committed to its zero-tolerance stance for any form of gender-based violence.
She further said that the Governor Obaseki administration was working assiduously to ensure that victims of gender-based violence could find safety and information needed to seek redress, as well as to make sure perpetrators are tried and convicted.
While condemning the killing of Omozuwa, the deputy commissioner of police said: “We will not condone such in our homes, schools, churches, mosques and in our state. We refuse to let our daughters live in fear in their society.”
She enjoined victims of gender-based violence to speak out by reporting any form of sexual or gender-based violence.
