In the wake of recent violent rape incidents across the country, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Senator Biodun Olujimi, has said the Senate leadership may soon come up with a bill that will prescribe severe penalties for rapists.

This is just as the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and Iyalode of Yorubaland, Alaba Lawson, lend their voices with a view to addressing the social ill.

Olujimi, who is a former deputy governor of Ekiti State, said the Senate President and the body of principal officers had been passionate about the need to protect girls and women from rapists since last week when a motion on rape was moved on the floor of the red chamber.

Olujimi, who was the Senate Minority Leader in the 8th National Assembly, stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Friday.

She lamented the frequent rape cases across the country, stressing that many girls were currently suffering terrible psychological trauma because there was no effective system or law that could protect them.

She said,

Nigerian women are tired of rape cases because our leaders, who are mostly men, are just paying lip service to it. The men are all guilty of it. Going forward, we need very stringent laws that are stiffer in order to protect our young girls.

The rapists destroy the lives of our girls. Most innocent ladies who have been victims of rape are heartbroken. They live with the trauma, which keeps haunting them for the rest of their lives.

It is unfortunate that we are bringing up children who have psychological disorder, who are dying and aching. This is not good for our society. That is why we need to have a law that would prescribe very stiff punishment like 15 years imprisonment for a convicted rapist so that others would learn their lessons.

So, I think the Senate will bring up a bill very soon to tackle the issue of rape once and for all. However, if the executive sends one to us before our own is ready, that means they are proactive, which is better.

Fayemi also said he would rally the NGF for state of emergency on rape, which has become rampant in the country.

Fayemi said women in the state were already calling for state of emergency to effectively deal with the menace, noting that concerted efforts needed to be taken by governments, bodies and individuals.

Fayemi spoke in Ado-Ekiti on Friday, June 5th, 2020 while signing into law the Sexual Violence against Children (Compulsory Treatment and Care) Bill 2020 recently passed by the state House of Assembly.

He said,

By virtue of the new law, a child victim of sexual violence in Ekiti will have rapid access to a medical facility that can administer emergency medical care, including treatment to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and counseling.

There is a need for a national consensus on the issue. I will be engaging the NGF at our next meeting to determine what emergency measures can be put in place to address this crisis more effectively and on a national basis.

He said in view of emotional disorder for the victims, he had directed the office of the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to always oppose bail application and plea bargaining for rapists and sex offenders.

Lawson vows to lead protest against rape

Meanhwile, the Iyalode of Yorubaland, Alaba Lawson, has vowed to lead a protest by Nigerian women to the National Assembly to canvass capital punishment for rapists.

Lawson, the immediate past president of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, maintained that she was ready to lead the women to lobby the lawmakers on the need to consider capital punishment for rapists.

She said this while featuring as a guest on a live radio programme of Splash FM, Abeokuta, tagged, ‘Man and the Law.’

The NACCIMA ex-president expressed worry over the menace, stressing that the law against rape is obsolete and responsible for the increase in rape cases in the country.

She insisted that there was a need to review the law so as to accommodate stiff penalty for the offenders.

She said, “I am ready to lead women to the National Assembly to lobby our lawmakers to promulgate law that will give room for stiff and drastic penalty for rapists.

Allow women to act in self-defence, Oluwo tells FG

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, on Saturday advised the Federal Government to allow women at the risk of being raped use stun guns and pepper spray in self defence.

A statement by his press secretary, Alli Ibraheem, urged government to take decisive actions and prevent more women from becoming victims of rape.

The statement reads in part,

The reported cases of rape are alarming and call for serious concern by responsible stakeholders. Apart from constitutional penalty against rapists, I want to charge the government to consider legalisation of the use of stun guns and pepper spray by females as protective items against unapproved sexual attempts.

Lagos calls for full enforcement of laws against rape

The Coordinator, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, said there was the need for states to enforce the extant laws to the letter to deter perpetrators.

The coordinator advised that there should be amendment to address some lacuna in the existing legislations that could be exploited by defense counsel.

She said under the Lagos State Criminal Law, defilement, rape and sexual assault by penetration are punishable by life imprisonment, adding that a couple of life imprisonment judgments had been secured in recent times.

She stated,

As the Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), has mentioned previously, a comprehensive Victim and Witness Support Bill is being worked on. It will help resolve some of these critical aspects of our laws. It is also keen to note that advocacy is extremely important. A lot of reorientation of mindset needs to happen, and we need to step up the early engagement of our young ones to break the cycle of abuse.

Statistics obtained by one of our correspondents from DSVRT revealed that 256 cases bordering on rape, defilement and other forms of sexual harassment against adults and children were reported at the agency in 2019.

Rep apologises over comment on dressing

A member of the House of Representatives, Ahmadu Jaha, has apologised to Nigerians over his comments on rape victims during the debate by members on rising sexual violence in the country on Thursday.

The lawmaker particularly apologised to female members of the House, his constituents and Nigerians offended by the blame he laid on victims who allegedly exposed their bodies.

Jaha, who is the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, is representing Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency of Borno State.

Jaha at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday admitted to have

made a mistake that has offended the sensibilities of fellow Nigerians and indeed, fellow human beings, particularly women who are our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.

He stated that persons who commit rape should be met with death punishment and called for domestication of relevant laws such as the Violence Against Persons and Prohibition Act and other relevant laws against gender-based violence in the country.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.