The father and elder brother of 14-year-old schoolgirl, Obiamaka Orakwue, allegedly raped to death by unidentified persons in her home in Abule Ado area of Lagos share their grief .
Please introduce yourself.
I am Chinedu, father of the late Obiamaka Orakwue. I am a businessman from Anambra State. I moved into this area (Abule Ado) in 2013.
You described as untrue the story on social media of how your daughter died. Can you narrate the true story?
I am surprised by the untruths circulated on social media about my daughter’s death. Until her death, Obiamaka was in SS2 and not JSS2. She attended a private school in the area and was just rounding off her examination. She was preparing to enter SS3.
Where were you when she was killed?
Incidentally I was not around. She was murdered in our home here on July 10. But before I left, she was fine and there was no cause for alarm. According to her mother, she said goodnight to everybody and went to bed early because she needed to wake up early for school. Her mother slept in a separate room. In the morning, they were expecting her to be up from her bed. When her mother called her and got no response, they entered her room and found her in the pool of her blood. They smashed her skull after raping her to death.
How did the culprits enter the house?
They entered through the window. We have a backdoor through the kitchen but it was not touched. They removed the window glass, burglary and went in. They scaled through the fence to come in because the gate was locked. Two of her elder brothers went to call the police. The police came and took notes and he went with them to make statements. They took the corpse to the mortuary.
Is it true that she told her mother that some boys were harassing her in school?
She never told any of us that she had problem with anybody. I read on social media that she had arguments with some boys and that she discussed the issue with her mum. It is not true. She never had a boyfriend because I always counselled her that at her age, she was not supposed to have a boyfriend. Maybe she had a boyfriend in her school but we don’t know. She returned from school on July 9 like any other person.
What is the outcome of the police investigation?
They call it homicide. But we saw that she was raped to death. I am not in the best position to know exactly what happened. The police and the baale of the area as well as the landlord association have been cooperative to unravel the mystery behind her death. We held meetings many times.
What is your assessment of the investigation?
My expectation is that by now, arrests should have been made and the culprits exposed. We are surprised that no arrest has been made so far. Ensuring justice for Obiamaka is the only thing that can heal the pain of the family. This can happen to any family, so it should not be swept under the carpet. If the culprits are arrested, it would serve as a deterrent. It will relax our hearts. Our prayer is that the police would help us to expose those that perpetrated this wicked act. I don’t know why nothing has been done. We are using this opportunity to call on the state government to intervene in this matter.
What was your last discussion with her?
Before I travelled, I advised her to be very serious with her studies. She wanted to become a pharmacist. I always counselled her that to achieve her dream, she needed to study hard. She was a very brilliant girl. Even her teachers attested to that. She was obedient, calm and not troublesome.
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