Chants of ‘Say no to Rape’ and ‘Justice for Uwa’ were sung by protesters, including students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and activists yesterday as they stormed the headquarters of the state police command in Edo State demanding justice for Vera Uwaila Omozuwa.
Attired in all black and branded with several placards amid the singing of solidarity songs, the protesters said the increasing cases of rape and violence against the female gender with some lukewarm attitude of security agencies to nip it in the bud, call for serious protest beyond mere condemnation from the comfort of people’s homes and offices.
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Uwaila, a 100-level student of the Department of Microbiology in UNIBEN was reported to have been raped and killed by some hoodlums inside a church where she went to read at the Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City, the Edo State Capital. This had sparked outrage with #JusticeForUwa dominating social media trend since Sunday.
On behalf of the leadership of the union and the student community, I wish to extend my condolences to the family of the deceased and also crave the indulgence of the Students’ Union Government in the University of Benin and the school management to implore better means of reducing and curtailing these violent occurrences against the girl child and students in general.
“We also want to appeal to the conscience of our youths to abstain from any form of aggression against their fellow youths especially the tender females. I hope that the perpetrators will be brought to book. We demand justice for this innocent girl and hope that the perpetrator will be brought to book. I call on the State government and all security outfit to swiftly investigate this issue and bring to book the perpetrator of this wicked act.”
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