The Amnesty International, the family of the late 14-year-old Keren-Happuch Aondodoo Akphagher, and Men Against Rape have cried out that justice has not been served in the case of the late student
Keren-Happuch Aondodoo Akphagher, 14, a student of Premier Academy, Abuja,died on June 22, 2021 from sepsis after she was raped.
The family and the human rights organizations lamented that the justice is not seen to have been served in the case that attracted outrage across the country last year.
They are deeply concerned that the perpetrators of the heinous crime and those complicit in the cover up of the murder have neither been prosecuted nor punished 12 months after.
This was contained in a joint statement by Amnesty International Nigeria, Men Against Rape Foundation and the Akphagher family on Monday.
The family and the groups expressed concern about the school’s failure to provide the footages of the CCTV of June 15 and 16 2021 which they feel are critical to the investigation on what happened to the late student among several other nagging questions.
“A year on, so many questions are left unanswered: “Why has Premiere Academy failed to provide the CCTV footages of 15 and 16 June 2021, which could aid in unravelling the reason why Keren could not walk to class on 16 June 2021?
“How come Premiere Academy retrieved and exhibited the CCTV footage of 19 June 2021 but claimed that the footages of 15 and 16 June 2021 have been deleted by the default setting of their system, despite the allegation of rape having been raised with the school on the 22 June 2021?
“Why has the Nigeria police refused to give official copies of the medical and autopsy reports to the family of Keren?
“Despite Premiere Academy’s claim that they will cooperate will all institutions of government to investigate Keren’s death, why has the school refused to cooperate with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) which is investigating the school over alleged failure of service delivery to Keren.
“Why did Premiere Academy file an application at the Federal High Court Abuja, seeking to stop the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) from investigating the circumstances, which led to the death of Keren.”
The family and the groups also wondered by the Ministries of Women Affairs and Education have developed cold feet about the pursuit of justice in the case.
In view of the seeming silence about the murder of the 14-year female student, the group asked: ‘What is the life of a Nigerian girl worth?
They stressed that the police has not complied with a House of Representatives’ Resolution mandating them to ensure a holistic investigation of the matter, the allegations of harassment and threat to life of Keren’s family and Lemmy Ughegbe, the human rights activist seeking justice for Keren, on 7 December 2021, six months after.
The statement noted that Nigeria which is party to several international treaties is under obligation to prevent violence against women and the girl child.
The statement demanded renewed investigation into the death of the student, the provision of adequate security for the family and the human rights activities, Lemmy Ughegbe who has been in the forefront of the campaign for Justice for the violated and murdered child.
“As a state party to several regional and international human rights treaties, Nigeria has an obligation to ensure that women and girls can live free from violence. Having ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Nigeria is obliged to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, punish and provide remedies for acts of violence against women and girls regardless of whether these acts are committed by private or state actors.
“As a state party to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, Nigeria undertakes to adopt and implement appropriate measures to ensure that women and girls are protected from all forms of violence, including sexual violence. Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees that “no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment.”
“The family of Keren-Happuch Aondodoo Akphagher, Men Against Rape Foundation and Amnesty International are hereby calling on the Nigerian authorities to ensure that:
• An immediate, impartial, effective and independent investigation is initiated on the circumstances leading to Keren’s death and that all those found culpable are prosecuted in fair trial and punished with no recourse to the death penalty.
• Adequate protection is guaranteed for Keren’s mother, Vivien Akpagher, her family and Lemmy Ughegbe and all other human rights defenders involved in this case.
• Effective remedies including reparations and guarantees of non-repetition are provided to all affected persons.”