It’s been three long years since the shocking and heart-wrenching incident that claimed the life of 11-year-old Favour Okechukwu, a promising JSS3 student.
The perpetrators, who callously raped her to death, are yet to be prosecuted, leaving her family grieving.
In September 2020, Favour was sent on an errand after she came back from school, only to never return home. After an exhaustive search, her lifeless body was discovered in a dilapidated building at Agbare avenue under a power line in Ejigbo, Lagos.
The incident shattered not only her dreams of becoming a pilot and engineer but also the hearts of those who loved her.
Favour’s mother, Mrs. Ruth Okechukwu, recounts the painful moments of searching for her daughter and the devastating discovery of her body.
She narrated that she sent the late Favour on an errand after school on September 30, 2020 and that she never came back home.
“After waiting for a while without seeing her, I went straight to where I sent her to and I was told that she never came there.
“I and her father went to some of her school mates’ houses to ask after her; some parents also joined us in the search, all to no avail.
“Many people told me they saw her last when she was coming from school. After hours of search, her father told me he was coming, he later came back around 8pm to tell me he was going to the Police Station; he did not come back until about 2am the next day.
“It was later in the morning that the news was broken to me that my daughter’s body had been found where she was raped to death.”
The deceased’s father, Mr. John Okechukwu, vividly remembers the shock and horror of finding Favour’s naked and bloodied corpse in a room.
“I was shocked when my wife said Favour hadn’t returned from where she was to collect a carton of gala, which sounded very unusual because she doesn’t stay long outside.
“I searched for my daughter, walking like a mad man on the streets, asking everyone I saw about her whereabout. Later, I saw a man who told me that he had to close early from his shop because a little girl was raped to death in a building close to his shop, an incident, which he said had caused panic in the area.
“I decided to go and check, since I was looking for my daughter and he accompanied me to the building.
“When I got to the compound, the people I met there pointed to the room where the incident happened and shockingly, there I saw my daughter’s body on the floor.
“She was naked, with blood all over her body. I shouted, Favour! I shook her many times, begging her to wake up, but she was already dead,” he recounted.
The grief-stricken parents echo a desperate plea for justice, demanding that those responsible face the consequences of their heinous actions.
“I am still in pain, All I want is justice for my daughter. All those found guilty should be prosecuted,” Mrs. Okechukwu sobbed.
Favour, the first of five children, was, before her death, a brilliant and ambitious girl. Her father proudly spoke of her academic achievements, intelligence, and budding talents, including her efforts to write a book.
Her dreams of celebrating her 12th birthday in October 21, 2020 and pursuing a career in fashion design were brutally cut short by the heartless perpetrators.
Favour’s case is not an isolated incident. The epidemic of rape in Nigeria persists, with perpetrators seemingly undeterred by public outcry.
In July 2023, an 18-year-old girl, Wassa Joel, was allegedly gang-raped to death in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The incident happened when the victim left her family house to visit her aunt in Lakanviri, about 10 Km away from Jalingo, the state capital. Her body was found behind a mountain around Jalingo.
Faith Akuji, a 10-year-old girl, was also reportedly raped to death by her relation in Enugu. She got missing in the evening of June 8, 2023, after her grandfather sent her to grind cassava in the community centre.
Her decomposing body was found in a bush at Mpole Ubere in Ette community, following the arrest of the suspect who confessed to have dragged her into a nearby bush and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her until she fainted and died.
