By Adadareporters
Amnesty International Nigeria and
Men Against Rape Foundation, Monday, condemned the failure of the federal government to find justice one year after
14-year-old Keren-Happuch Aondodoo Akphagher, a student of Premier Academy, Abuja, died from sepsis as a result of rape.
There position was made known in a joint statement issued in Abuja.
The statement read in part, “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 have the Nigeria Police refused to give official copies of the medical and autopsy reports to the family of Keren?”
The statement regretted that the school had failed to assist security agencies to investigate Keren’s death.
According to them, “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?
“Why have the ministries of Women Affairs and Education not lived up to their responsibilities by intervening in the case to ensure that justice is served? What is the life of a Nigerian girl worth?”
The statement recalled that on 7 December 2021, the House of Representatives passed a resolution urging the Nigeria Police to investigate Keren’s death and the allegations of harassment and threat to life of Keren’s family and Lemmy Ughegbe, the human rights defender seeking justice for Keren.
“Over six months since these resolutions were passed, there have been no compliance. 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 statement demanded adequate protection for Keren’s mother, Vivien Akpagher; her family and Lemmy Ughegbe and all other human rights defenders involved in this case.”
