Majority of Nigerians have risen in unison to condemn the ever rising incidences of rape and other gender-based crimes, mostly violent, the House of Representatives joined the fray. JOSHUA EGBODO writes.
State of emergency against rape, others
Even with its pledge to deploy all legislative means towards addressing challenges posed by the menace, more cases have been witnessed in like every other day.
Experts even argued that there may be more, as to them; statistics of such incidences provided by concerned authorities only cover those who have the courage to report occurrences.
Worried by rising cases of rape and related crimes, fuelling fears that Nigeria may take over from the like of India on the global ladder of such crimes, the House of Representatives last week demanded for state of emergency to be declared against rape in Nigeria. It followed with a call for members to attend its next plenary (expectedly this morning) in black attires as sign of solidarity with victims of rape, as well as violence against girls and women in the country.
The house also in its resolution on the matter, urged the nation’s judiciary to forthwith, dispense with rape cases speedily, as it further mandated the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), to publish names and pictures of convicted rapists.
While urging the federal government to provide urgent testing kits for rape victims at all primary healthcare centres, the House called on the Inspector General of Police to immediately cause investigations into the cases of Uwa Omozuwa, Tina Ezekwe, the reported rape of minor in Jigawa state, as well as all other reported cases of violence against women, in a bid to bringing the criminals to justice.
Members were to follow with an emotional observance of a minute’s silence in honour of the death of Uwa Omozuwa, Tina Ezekwe, and all other girls and women who had died as a result of rape or related crimes, with a call on the government to embark on aggressive campaign against all forms of violence against women.
A member of the house, Hon Rotimi Agunsoye, had in the said motion hinged on the need to condemn the rising cases of sexual violence and other social vices against women, as well as police brutality in the country, recalled that there have been several recent nationwide media reports of gender-based violence against women and girls, noting that there have been “disturbing growing spate of violence against women and girls recorded throughout the country”.
He said “the most common violence against women and girls are: rape, sexual harassment, emotional and psychological violence and socio-economic violence”, adding that it was disturbing that women and the girl child are daily exposed to these gender-based violence in Nigeria with negligible statistics of convictions compared to the prevalence of the dastardly acts”.
Absence of commensurate penalties?
Agunsoye argued that rape and other related crimes have seemingly continue unabated due mainly weak institutions, poor enforcement, poverty and unacceptable social practices, which were contributing to the ugly increase in violence against women and girls, noting that a better government policy and legislative framework is required to stem the rising violence against women as well as improve and support women development. To many, his submissions were apt, as to them; even where cases are reported and followed up with effective prosecutions, prescribed penalties in the extant laws were no longer in tune with today’s realities.
No to castration as punishment
Understandably provoked by a lot of concerns expressed by members during debate on the motion, chairman of the Committee on Finance, Hon James Faleke, introduced an additional prayer, seeking the prescription of castration as punishment for all rapists found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. This was to generate a lot of arguments on the floor. When question was put by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila for members’ voice votes however, majority voted against the proposal.
Gbajabiamila had asked what would happen to an older female who raped a younger male, before subjecting the prayer to a voice vote, fuelling more controversy on the prayer, even as stiffer penalties were recommended.
Baseline incidences and many more
Beside the incidences prior to intervention of the House of Representatives, there had been widespread reports on such crimes. For instance, the police in Jigawa State recently said it arrested 11 men who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl, as majority of Nigerians expressed outrage over the rape and murder of a 23-year-old female 100-level microbiology student of the University of Benin, Vera Omozuwa, inside a church in Edo state. She was reportedly at the church to study when the attack happened, and was to die 18 days later.
Earlier last week, a student of Science Laboratory Technology at the Federal College of Animal Health and Production, Ibadan, Oyo state, was reportedly attacked, raped, and stabbed to death at Akinyele Kara Market along Old Oyo Road, Ibadan, by yet to be arrested assailants.
The most recent so far were reports over the weekend from Kaduna state, where five persons were arrested for allegedly drugging, after which four of the suspects allegedly gang-raped a 13 year old girl, and subsequently dumped her in a parked car, and in Lagos, where a girl of 12 was attacked in her home by four masked men and brutally gang-raped while the father was out to buy fuel for the home’s power generator in order to ensure a seamless online lesson for the daughter.
More worries as CSOs visit Gbajabiamila
In just about 24 hours after the House of Representatives passed a resolution urging a state of emergency against rape and other gender-based crimes, a coalition of 12 civil society-based organisations (CSOs) was in his office. Representatives of the sexual and gender-based CSOs complained about the refusal of many states to either pass or domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition and Child Rights laws.
With the escalation of rape cases in the country in recent times, the CSOs also demanded a state of emergency on domestic violence against women, while seeking for a deliberate criminalization of such offences, with concerns that many victims of such violence do not come forward or get properly documented either at the hospital or police station, even as they pleaded for intervention over reported cases of aiding and abetting by police officers, who oftentimes lead to mishandling of cases of sexual violence among others.
Some of the CSOs at the meeting include Women Advocacy Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Education as a Vaccine (EVA), Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Programme, Action Aid, Malala Fund, Heir Women Development and Disability Rights Advocacy Centre, among others.
The speaker’s pledges
In his assurances to the CSOs over the plethora of concerns, Gbajabiamila said the House of Representatives under his leadership would engage the 36 states Houses of Assemblies on the need for the domestication of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and the Child Rights Act, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has said.
According to the Speaker, the engagement would be technologically conducted due to the urgency and critical nature of the issue, considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in the country, adding that the House would consider working on sexual violence-related laws to make them conform with the current realities.
“My question has always been, first of all, why do we have this very significant uptick in cases of rape right now as opposed to in the past? Is it because of cultural shift and people are now emboldened to report these cases? Or is it just actually an uptick, with more cases of rape?
“I’m not sure which one it is, but whichever one it is, it’s been brought to the forefront, and it is incumbent upon us as legislators, in fact, upon every Nigerians to confront it and eliminate it as much as we can. I believe the House has been very responsive on this matter. Fortunately, it falls in line with our 9th Assembly Agenda, the issue of women and the sanctity of their dignity and the constitutional rights of the dignity of their person.
“Fortunately, we had a motion on the issue on the floor of the House yesterday (Thursday), robustly debated with enough time. Because it (this issue) is beyond the dignity to person; it is a fundamental human right that has been abused. We reached far-reaching resolutions on the issue, and we even resolved to wear black on our next sitting to show solidarity and the seriousness with which we have taken the issue.
“On Violence Against Persons Prohibition and Child Rights Acts and the domestication of both, I’m aware that about 27 states are yet to domesticate them. But we, as a Federal House, will take that initiative to the states. I intend to write and communicate to all the Speakers of all 36 States for them to be proactive about this piece of legislation. Hopefully, we will set that up sometime next week to have a meeting, obviously by zoom conference with all the Speakers on a single item agenda which will be the issue of Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act and the Child Rights Act and the domestication of same.
“I’m sure, by the time we are through, I think all 36 States would, unless there is a reason which I cannot even think of, why any State would oppose such. I assure you, every single member of this House is on the same page with you on this matter”, Gbajabiamila stated”.
Would the states yield?
With the continuous rise in cases of rape and related crimes, Nigerians are of the opinion that the faster the interventions as pledged by the House of Representatives, the better for the entire nation. Fears are however on whether the state Houses of Assembly would yield to the idea, as to such pessimists; politics, religion and other issues may remain as obstacles to the noble moves.
