Who was Ochanya? A name that shook Nigeria and the world, behind that name was one of the most heartbreaking stories in our recent history. Ochanya Elizabeth Ogbanje, just 13 years old, died in 2018 after years of horrific sexual abuse committed by her guardian and his son. Her story exposed not only unimaginable cruelty, but also the deep cracks in Nigeria’s child-protection and justice systems.Though the case was eventually reopened, the painfully slow response and judicial neglect revealed how fragile our legal safeguards for children truly are. Justice delayed became justice denied. This paper examines Nigeria’s child-protection framework, particularly the Child Rights Act 2003, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, the Penal Code, constitutional rights, and relevant international instruments like the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Using Ochanya’s case as a lens, it highlights the noticeable difference between the law on paper and its enforcement in reality, exposing the legal, institutional, and socio-cultural failures that enabled the abuse. The essay concludes by proposing reforms to strengthen child-protection mechanisms and prevent future tragedies.