The first public inquiry into the death of Grace Ushang, the youth corps member who was killed while serving in Borno State, held on Wednesday, in Abuja, amid calls by rights groups and lawmakers for a re-examination of the medical evidence and the sack of the commissioner of police in the state, Ibrahim Abdu.
Human Rights groups, medical officials and members of the House of Representatives have demanded a fresh autopsy on Ms. Ushang after the first police official report, presented by Mr. Abdu ruled out rape as the cause of her death in September, 2009.
The chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs, which organized the hearings, Binta Masi Garba, said the police presentation represented one of the “worst investigations into a crime that has left pain in many hearts.”
A member of the House from Anambra state, Chinedu Eluemuno, said the police presentation showed a lack of commitment to finding those who committed the crime and recommended that the commissioner, Mr. Abdu, be removed.
“We are all human beings. For the CP to conclude that there was no rape is totally wrong. I have my misgivings and I reject the report completely,” he said.
“You should take this back to your governor, as the Chief Law Officer of the state; that if this is the same report that was presented to him and he did not call for re-examination, then he has failed in his responsibility as the Chief Law Officer and I am disappointed by his conduct,” Mr. Eluemuno said.
“As far as I am concerned, this report is zero. It is sad to say that three months after, the police are yet to complete investigation. It is sad indeed,” said Halima Tukur, a member of the Women Affairs committee.
“The question that rightly comes to the forefront is whether the death of Grace Adie is a case of violence against women. Whether Grace was raped as acclaimed in some quarters. My answer to these questions is negative,” Mr. Abdu said in the presentation read before a large audience of human rights representatives, government officials from Cross River and Borno States, the House of Representatives committees on Women Affairs, Women in Parliament and Human Rights.
The lawmakers and the Medical Women Association said available reports and evidence show that Ms. Ushang sustained bruises “around the thigh area” that suggest there was a forceful attempt on her sexually against the police position.
“It is agreed that she may not have been a virgin and that could make it difficult to detect penetration,” said Mma Nwokocha, the President, Medical Women Association. “But beyond the cut she had above the eyes, the multiple blood collections and evidences of pressure around the neck area, which shows how resistive she tried to be, she also had injuries around the thigh and the question is what were they looking for there?”
Ms. Ushang, 25, from Obudu in Cross River State, was found dead in Maiduguri on September 26, 2009. Media reports after the incident said she was attacked, raped and killed because she dressed in the trouser provided by the National Youth Service Corps as uniforms.
The police report presented on Wednesday claimed that photographs from the scene of the crime showed Ms. Ushang was dressed in plain clothes and not the official Khaki pants of the corps at the time of death.
The report was prepared by five pathologists assembled by the police and the National Youth Service Corps, according to Mr. Abdu.
Youth corps members as suspects
After the Ms. Ushang’s death, the police arrested nine suspects, who have been in detention since their arrests. The suspects, according to the police, are the colleagues of the deceased who lived in the same lodge with her.
The lawmakers and the human rights groups said it was strange that the police arrested no member of the community, except the “possibly innocent” members of the NYSC.
“One of the problems we have is that this is the only country where people go unpunished for wrongdoings,” said Sada Jibia, a member from Katsina State.
Avoiding Borno
The Cross River State House of Assembly has passed a motion to bar indigenes of the state from serving in Borno State for the compulsory youth service.
“We are not taking this back and we came here to see what is happening and to tell the Borno State that they have done this much to us and we will fight back,” said Ekama Awara, the Cross River State Commissioner for Women Affairs at the hearing.
“If nothing is done on this case, we will abide by the resolution of our House of Assembly and our indigenes will no longer be sent out. If we need to scrap the scheme, then that should be done.”
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