UPDATE: Human rights activists seek justice for teenage undergraduate murder victim

Civil society groups, Basic Rights Enlightenment Foundation (BREF), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Yala Community in Abuja, yesterday demanded justice for the family of Miss Joy Odama, the 19-yearold undergraduate who was allegedly murdered at Karmo, Abuja.
Joy was a second year Mass Communication student at the Cross Rivers State University, Calabar. She was allegedly killed via overdose of hard drugs administered on her on December 20, 2016.
The groups expressed disappointment that the murder remained unresolved and the culprits were walking freely even after petitions were sent to the Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) as well as the National Assembly.
They disclosed that an autopsy conducted on the lady indicated overdose of drugs administered on her, adding that the autopsy would be subjected to further analysis to unravel more facts about her death.
The Executive Director, BREF, Mr. Augustine Madu, who read out the position, appealed to the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to step into the matter and ensure that the culprits were brought to book.
Madu lambasted the police and the NHRC for not taking prompt action to unravel the mystery behind Joy’s death. Madu urged Osinbajo to order the immediate arrest and prosecution of the alleged murderer, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Karmo, CSP Nkem Raphael, as well as the Divisional Crime Officer, Karmo, SP Michael Obiora, for allegedly shielding the culprits from facing the wrath of the law.
The coalition also expressed lack of confidence on the police and appealed to the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to take over the investigation of the matter from the police.
However, Raphael had earlier said that he was not shielding Joy’s suspected killer. Joy’s mother, Mrs. Philomena Odama, urged Nigerians to come to her aid by prevailing on the government to take appropriate actions on her daughter’s killers.
She said: “The police want to deny me justice after six months of my daughter’s death. It was my people that paid for the autopsy as well as the mortuary bills.”