As the number of rape cases in Lagos State and Nigeria is on the increase, the State House of Assembly has called for strict implementation of rape laws, acceleration of rape cases in the courts, cancellation of stigmatization of victims and punishment of offenders.
These followed the House of Assembly Motion moved by Hon. Mojisola Alli-Macaulay (Amuwo Odofin Constituency 1) along with 12 others during plenary on Monday 29th June, 2020.
The Motion is entitled; “Need To Curb The Incident of Rape, Defilement of Minors and Other Sexual Abuses.”
“The House noted that the alarming rate of domestic violence, rape, defilement of minor and other sexual abuses, particularly Lagos State.
“We further noted that some victims of sexual assault who were either children of less then twelve years, adult or aged female are left with their fate in the society while the culprits moved freely without fear of being apprehended and prosecuted,” the Motion read.
Macaulay stated further that the House is disturbed by the catalogues of sexual abuse cases reported daily in the media and the reactions of Civil Society Organisations (CSO), but concerned by the ordeals of victims of rape and related cases, which includes emotional trauma, shame, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and committing suicide for fear of social stigmatization.
The House, she said is “further disturbed that the weak enforcement of related laws, lack or education on how victims of the heinous act can seek redress, mistreatment of rape cars among others created an environment where sexual abuse is perpetrated with impunity and is also disturbed that only few offenders out of many reported rape cases were prosecuted and the culprits convicted.”
The House then called on Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Oluto direct the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to ensure that perpetrators of any form of rape and defilement of minors are prosecuted speedily and in line with extant laws of the State.
Sanwo-Olu was also ordered to direct the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation should ensure that the rights of every victim of sexual assault are protected through the Domestic Violence Agencies in the State.
The Domestic And Sexual Violence Response Team in Lagos State and other relevant Agencies to adopt whistle blowing mechanism in the fight against domestic violence, especially rape and defilement of minors.
“The Commissioner for Information and Strategy to intensify efforts on the campaign against sexual abuses and sensitise members of the public to report any form of sexual assault to the appropriate authority in the state and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command to ensure that offenders of domestic violence, including rape and defilement of minors are made to face full weight if the law,” the Motion added.
Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa stated that they don’t need to wait till someone is raped before actions is taken.
Obasa added that the motion was meant to prevent rape either among adult or young ones, males and females.
He added that “There is need to look at morals. What is our religious institutions preaching. Most times, people are particular about survival than the welfare of our children.
“The laws and the prosecution have always been there. We need to look inward. What are the reasons and what are the things we need to do. How many of the cases are being reported, how many will the police handle. How can a three month or there year old child be left alone by her mother with strangers?
“We should question the psychological aspect of the matter. The judiciary should be called upon to accelerate any case that has to do with rape,” he said.
In his contributions, Hon. Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1) stated that the issue of rape was becoming a pandemic and that it is even more dangerous than COVID-19.
Also speaking, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti-Osa 2) said that there are statues that deal with rape decisively and that rape is a heinous crime.
Yishawu added that rape must be tackled with all the fibre in someone’s body and that parents should not put their children in harm.
“Every adult, especially men is a potential rapist. Don’t leave your child in a room with a child. Every man or woman is a potential rapist.
“We need to strength our reporting. The police cannot handle everything. The Office Of Public Defender should be strengthened to handle rape cases. All these exist in our laws, but we must be careful and find other agencies of government that can aid the prosecution of rapists,” he said.
Olowo, who later recommended castration for rapists, said that parents, who conceal facts about rape should be punished.
“Our laws are not effectively implemented and a lot of rape victims later end up committing suicide.
“Our police are not well trained, some of them even collect bribes. Ladies should dress well and avoid some areas at night.
“There should be dedicated courts like tribunals to try such cases. Lagos State Electricity Board should also provide electricity in strategic areas at night,” he said.
Hon. Abiodun Tobun (Epe 1) said in his contributions that the act of rape is condemnable generally.
He wondered why a man in his right senses would rape when he could go to commercial sex workers.
“Those who rape should be dealt with. Those who do it should be exposed to the whole world so that they could be dehumanized and stigmatized, and there should be a national book on rape. We should educate our people not to force their lovers into sex, and concealment is also a sin,” he stated.
Hon. Sanai Agunbiade representing Ikorodu 1 explained that the house had amended the Lagos State Criminal Law to make rape attract life sentence.
In his contribution, he opined that the only thing the House did not add is death penalty.
According to him, we have the highest penalty for the offence. But how many cases have attained that level of sentencing. The purpose of penalty of any law deter others from doing it. But how far have we gone on this. In Kano, man was charged for raping a 5-year old girl, he was released and he continued to rape the girl.
He continued, “If we say life imprisonment for a rapist, that is for the state, but what of the victim of the offence. We should look at the remedy for the victim. We should look at the shame aspect. Rapists should be exposed to members of the public. Part of the punishment should be community sentencing, where they would serve the community with a uniform to expose them as rapists.
“There should be speedy prosecution to facilitate quick judgment. We have had cases of a parent defiling his own daughter. We must do something fast, especially on parents who rape their daughters or stepdaughter. Others have been properly captured in our law, but the law should properly executed”.
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