The Edo state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has expresses disappointment with the Nigeria Police over its inability to investigate and prosecute killers of Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, two years after she was gruesomely murdered.
Omozuwa, a 22-year-old first-year Microbiology student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), was allegedly raped and murdered in June, 2020, inside a church in Benin City, the Edo state capital, where she went to study.
Obaseki spoke on Tuesday in Benin, while declaring open the End of Project Workshop for the National Academy for Science, with the theme: “Strengthening the Evidence and Response Pathways for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in key states in Nigeria.”
The Governor noted that delayed justice for victims has become a hindrance for the fight against gender-based violence in the state.
According to him, “Two years after Uwaila Omozuwa was brutally murdered in Benin City, we have still not been able to prosecute the perpetrators of this dastardly act. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) insisted that this case should be moved to headquarters.
“As we speak, the investigation is stalling. This is really, really sad and we will not be able to make progress in our fight against gender-based violence if we can’t get reports from the very highest authorities in Nigeria.
“With the interest that President Muhammadu Buhari has shown in the fight against GBV crimes in Nigeria, it is quite disappointing that the police has not been able to make use of this very sad incident which shocked the whole world as an example to show that they have the capacity to deal with this set of violent crimes in our society,” he decried.
The Governor however appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to ensure that his men do what they are constitutionally expected to do, to conclude investigations and prosecute the perpetrators of what he described as a painful offense.
This is even as he gave assurances that his government will sustain efforts to end all forms of sexual and gender-based violence in the State.
