By Izunna Okafor, Awka
A group of women, known as Ultimate Business Women and Farmers Association of Nigeria (UBWFAN), on Thursday, held a peaceful protest in Awka, the capital city of Anambra State, over alleged defiling of a 12-year-old girl by one Mr. Boniface Onyekwere, a 56-year-old suspected evangelist, pastoring with a new generational church.
It was alleged that the ‘Pastor’ Onyekwere, who is also a Lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, defiled the 12-year-old minor, just three days after she started living with him as housemaid.
Narrating her ordeal, the minor (name withheld) who hails from a community in Orumba North Local government area of Anambra state, said the pain was so much on her, to the extent that she had to jump down from a storey building at about 9:30pm that fateful day, when she could no longer endure the pain. She also said she broke her leg and got seriously injured in the process.
Speaking during the protest which held at the Women Development Center, Awka, the leader of the protesting women group Hon. Nkiru Nwagbo insisted that the Association will leave no stone unturned until the victim gets justice.
“We do not know what our society is turning into, and that is why we are doing all that we can to get justice and this would serve as a lesson for those who may want to continue in such inhumane activities,” she said.
Contributing, the Spokesperson of the Anambra State Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga said the suspect had been remanded in Correctional Center and charged to court, while the Command is still investigating the matter. He also advised parents and guardians to always be mindful of the kind of people they hand over their children to as housemaids.
On her own part, the state’s Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Mrs. Ify Obinabo called for quick prosecution of the suspect, Pastor Onyekwere, who has already been remanded at a Correction Center in Awka, pending his appearance before the court.
The Commissioner commended and expressed joy over the women’s protest, adding that protection and promotion of the welfare of women and children are parts of the key agenda of the incumbent Governor Charlse Soludo’s administration in the state.
Continuing, she said: “We have commenced sensitization programs for women, girlchild and young boys to avert abuse of the younger generation.
“We also call on groups and faith-based organizations as well as schools to teach morals and embrace the culture and traditions of the society for posterity.”
The protesting women were seen carrying placards bearing such inscriptions as ‘Soludo, Save Our Girls and Children from Abuse’, ‘A Rape to One Is a Rape to All’, ‘Stop Abusing Our Girls’, ‘UBWFAN for Justice’, ‘Say No to Rape’, as well as photos of the storey building from where the victim jumped down, and photos of her where she lie in a hospital bed with injuries, bandages and cotton wool all over her body.
