#JusticeForBlessing: ‘Her Case Is Notably Serious, We Need More Time’ — Police

Blessing Olajide, a 300-level student of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), was brutally raped and killed in her apartment, but about one week after, the police say they need more time to track down her alleged murderers.

Olajide’s killers are believed to have trailed her to her apartment, gagged her to avoid attracting neighbors’ attention, and left a note which said “UNILORIN does not forgive” after the atrocious act.

The inscription had raised suspicion among many Nigerians that Olajide’s killers could be cultists, but the Kwara State Police Command described the action as a decoy and one aimed at “distracting” would-be investigators.

Speaking to THE WHISTLER on Wednesday, the state’s police spokesperson, SP Ajayi Okasannmi, said: “You see, the police cannot rely on one evident, it has to look at all angles to arrive at a conclusion. The letter may be an object for investigation but also a distraction too. So, we cannot rely on that.”

The 23-year-old student of the Department of Agricultural Science had just finished her exams and was to progress to her fourth year when her life was abruptly cut short last week.

Okasannmi told our correspondent that Olajide’s death was peculiar and required adequate investigation to nail the culprits.

“This happens to be a crime that is notably serious that has happened around that area so it is of great concern to every one of us,” he said in reference to Nigerians’ demand for justice.

The deceased lived with her relative at Tanke, an area dominated by students and about 3km away from the Unilorin Campus. The Police say the area is not prone to insecurity.

Okasannmi, however, said it was not uncommon to have security challenges in student dominated areas, and as such Tanke has been a “place of interest to the police and school security”, but noted that Olajide’s case was an “isolated one”.

He enjoined members of the public to exercise patience and avoid pressure to get justice by themselves as the police command would do everything necessary fish out Olajide’s killers and ensure justice was served.

Meanwhile, a candle light procession organised by the university’s students union would be held in honour of late Olajide within the school premises at 7pm on Wednesday.

Rise In Violence Against Women

A report by global experts puts Nigeria as the ninth most dangerous place for women in the world, and according to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2018), 30 per cent of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 reported being subjected to sexual abuse.

Like Olajide, the violence against women has escalated in recent times, leaving little or no hope for security of the girl child and women across the country.

In the last one year, Nigerians had protested the gruesome killings of no fewer than five ladies with various hashtags ranging from #JusticeforUwa, #JusticeforTina, #JusticeforUmoren, #JusticeforBlessing to the now #JuticeforBlessingOlajide.

One thing remained common about these cases: they were allegedly raped, killed and justice has yet to be fully served despite public outcry.

On Monday, the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) movement consisting of several non-governmental organisations including TechHerNG, Yiaga Africa, Connected Development (CODE), amongst others, had condemned the spike in the number of killings of women in the country.

They recalled that on June 12, 2020, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) had declared a state of emergency on SGBV but the menace remains deteriorating.

An infographic illustration by the movement showed that only eleven states have adopted the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act (2015) as of June 1, 2021. Interestingly, Kwara is not on the list.

The movement, therefore, demanded that SGBV cases should be promptly prosecuted within a reasonable timeframe and in line with the provisions of extant laws, regardless of requests or interference by the victim’s family or interested parties.

It asked the 36 state governors to establish independent specialised courts for sexual offences, and set up new or fund existing Sexual Assault Referral Centers (SARCs) and shelters in every state.

Also, it asked that a Sexual Offenders Register be opened in all the states and the police should set up a well-resourced functional Family Support Units and Force Gender Units to address GBV cases.

“Also, there should be public disciplinary measures against officers of the Nigeria Police Force and state prosecutors who mishandle cases of GBV,” the group said.