Church Should Have Been A Safe Place For Most, But Not For Uwa

Protestors screaming for a better lawfulness system from the state government after the horrendous crime, where a student was being raped and murdered in a church.

Activists consisting of students in the University of Benin (UNIBEN) marched their protest for Vera Uwaila Omozuwa. source

Activists consisting of students in the University of Benin (UNIBEN) marched their protest for Vera Uwaila Omozuwa. source

By Anya Sueng

June 24, 2020

The social media was bursting into a frustrating argument using the hashtags #justiceforUwa in the discussion of justice after Uwaila Omozuwa, a student at the University of Benin, Nigeria had been found on May 30, 2020, in the pool of blood at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in Benin city, where she was studying her books.

Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a 22-year-old female, has lost her life brutally from being a victim of rape and murder. She was a cheerful and warm person, said her sister. Aspiring to be a nurse and a preacher for the words of God. She had been recently enrolled at the UNIBEN in the faculty of microbiology just before she was killed. She was a devoted member of the Church as a part of the choir, which she also usually went there to study. 1

She was somebody's daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover, she was and is someone. She loses her life to an atrocious crime that still remains unknown and might contain a high possibility of remaining unsolved if the public did not demand the rights to her death. She was murdered cruelly in a place where it should be a protected place, a sin-free place, a place where she feels the most welcomed and secure, a church. This situation would not be appearing in Nigeria if the government, organization, or the authority of the country took control and managed this type of complication vigorously.

“She was covered in blood, coming out of her hands and mouth,” said Judith Omozuwa, sister of Uwa Omozuwa in a video. Her sister was devastated, with tears running down her face, waiting for justice to be established for her sister and other victims of rape. Encountering a horrifying crime that was extremely sinful and without any remorse in a house of God is heinous enough for anyone to observe, let alone being the victim. Nevertheless, the most abominable matter that generates so much oppression is the fact that the government did not act on anything. Nigeria was and is encompassed in rape crime immensely. Regardless of the Coronavirus pandemic, Nigeria faces the horrendous event that sparked and was building up for a period of time which is sexual violence, assault, and without consent. The blast of the situation emerged from the fact that there were various cases of individuals (mostly female) who had been the victim of sexual harassment and it has been a norm in the continent. Some individuals view this crime as normal behavior of men and the authority does less to nothing to solve this problem. 2 Rape Crisis in Nigeria has always been a major complication, in almost every age range, female residents often experience various types of sexual abuse and rape. A study illustrates the percentage of female youngsters that had encountered a sexual violation in Nigeria. In which, 99% of the incident was children. Furthermore, another surprising number is that 15% of secondary schoolers had been rape victims (Michael O. N. Kunnuji and Adenike Esiet, 2015).

1. Conan Altatis, “Uwa Omozuwa biography: 13 things about University of Benin student,” Conan Daily, June 1, 2020, https://conandaily.com/2020/06/01/uwa-omozuwa-biography-13-things-about-university-of-benin-student/

2. Emmanuel Okogba, “Tackling Nigeria ‘s rape crisis,” Vanguard, June 18, 2020, https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/06/tackling-nigerias-rape-crisis/

Protestors from the rights organization oppressed their demand in front of the police force headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. Bukola Adebaya for CNN

“Our silence has made us all complicit and now is the time to speak out and put an end to our rape culture." Dr. Kemi Ibru, founder of the non-profit organization Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) stated.3 Residents, especially females have been protesting for their rights for a long time, fighting for their justice for the government to listen to them. There is a number of individuals who had been the victim of this gruesome crime and the case were left unattended and was fading away. The complication of sexual assault should not be neglected, it should gain interest from everybody in order to educate citizens on this matter, it should be taken seriously, all of this demand is a part of human rights. They were appealing for their rights and protection from an authority, on a subject that they should have been receiving as a part of being human and the first thing at birth. A socio-culture aspect might play some part in implanting the notion to males that sexual harassment is a traditional and ordinary subject. In parts of Africa, some continents allow males to grope sexually in unmarried females’ private parts (Bangladesh Journal of Medicine Science, 2019). Gladly, there are organizations and activists that have come forward to work on this aspect. More people are willing to speak up and are not ashamed of the awful event they encountered. This video shows and supports the movement to be intriguing which enabled their voice to be listened to. Plus, the movement of #JusticeforUwa demonstrates how the society of Nigeria has pursued to proceed further in a positive way. People appear to be more considerate and fight for the justice of everyone who was a victim in this field.

3 Stephanie Busari, “Outcry after a Nigerian student dies from ‘brutal’ attack in church,” CNN, June 2, 2020, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/africa/attack-nigeria-student-church/index.html