Does justice really run its full course in Nigeria?

Nigerians were still grappling with the horrible manner in which Benjamin Best, also known as Killaboi, killed Augusta Osedion, his girlfriend, when another tragic incident made the news on Thursday.

The news? Okoligwe Damian Chinemere, a 400-level engineering student at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), killed Justina Otuene Nkang, his girlfriend, who is a 300-level student of Biological Chemistry at UNIPORT.

Justina’s dead body was found mutilated in her boyfriend’s house a few days after she was declared missing. Reports say that the killer was trying to dispose of the corpse wrapped in a polythene bag when he was caught.

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Like this recent killing, the lifeless body of Augusta was discovered in Killaboi’s residence at Oral Estate in the Ikota area of Lagos State.

Although Killaboi confessed to the crime after the victim was reported missing, he fled on July 13, 2023. He was arrested in Sierra Leone on October 20.

Sadly, Nigerian women have become victims of femicide on multiple occasions.

FIJ found that femicide is the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female. It is a gender-based crime that often stems from gender inequality, discrimination and power imbalances between men and women.

Femicide takes various shapes, some of which include domestic violence, honour killings, dowry-related killings, and other gender-motivated violence leading to the death of women.

Women rights advocates have described femicide as a serious human rights violation and a pressing social issue that requires attention and efforts to prevent.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Killaboi Arrested in Sierra Leone for Killing Girlfriend in Lagos

FIJ compiles a few instances where women’s lives were lost to femicide between 2020 and 2023. With the expectation that justice would be served, public outrage trailed these incidents. However, for many of the cases, the killers are either yet to be identified or investigations and legal proceedings are still in progress.

2020: UWAILA OMOZUWA

Uwaila Omozuwa, a 100-level student at the University of Benin, was raped and assaulted by assailants in a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Edo State on May 27, 2020.

Omozuwa had gone there to study when the attackers forced themselves into the church, subjected her to sexual assault and inflicted head injuries on her using a fire extinguisher.

Although efforts were made to save her life, she died a few days after the attack.

2020: BARAKAT BELLO

On June 1, 2020, 18-year-old Barakat Bello was raped and killed in her parents’ house in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Bello was a student of the Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training in Ibadan before the incident.

Reports revealed that she was returning home after fetching water for her bath when she met suspected thieves, who gang-raped and cut her with machetes until she died in the house.

READ ALSO: Baba Ijesha Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Sexually Assaulting Teen

2021: HINY UMOREN

Hiny Iniobong Umoren, a philosophy graduate from the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), had gone for a job interview in Akwa Ibom State when she met her tragic end in April 2021.

She was found dead after being declared missing on April 29. Uduak Akpan, her 20-year-old killer, pleaded guilty to the charge of murder against him and he was sentenced to death.

Akpan lured 26-year-old Umoren under the pretext of a job offer to his family’s residence in Nung Ikono Obio village, where she was raped and murdered. Her body was then buried in a shallow grave.

2022: BAMISE AYANWOLE

Bamise Ayanwole was on her way home from work in Ajah, Lagos State, on February 26, when she was abducted after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle heading to Oshodi from Chevron bus stop.

Bamise’s mutilated corpse was found 10 days later, with her last known message sent from within the bus, which was driven by one Andrew Nice Omininikoron.

The BRT driver, who disappeared after word went round that Bamise’s friends and family were at the bus terminal, was arrested on March 7, 2022.

He initially admitted to committing “dirty acts” against Bamise but he later backpedalled, saying he knew nothing about the harm that befell Bamise.

2022: PRECIOUS OKEKE

In April 2022, Ifeanyi Njoku, a 28-year-old Lagos State resident, was arrested for killing Precious Okeke, his 24-year-old girlfriend, in the Ajah area of Lagos State.

Njoku admitted to killing his girlfriend for money rituals. The police revealed that a native doctor, who was assisting Njoku in the money ritual scheme, had instructed him to have sex with Okeke’s corpse.

The killer had engaged in the illicit act with his girlfriend’s corpse for six days before the stench emanating from his apartment made his neighbours alert the police.