Rape cases have been in and out of the news in Nigeria but in recent times, it has become constant and scary, making girl child and women in general endangered.
On May 27, Vera Omozuwa eventually gave up after being in comma days after she was raped and hit on the head with a fire extinguisher in a church in Benin City where she had gone to read.
Her death sparked public reaction and protest in both Abuja and Lagos State with Nigerians in unison calling for the apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators.
Also on June 2, a 19 year-old lady Barakat Bello, a student of Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training, was found dead at the back of her house in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, in what was said to be a rape and murder situation.
The same day, In Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, a 17 year-old street hawker was gang-raped at the Oja-Oba Market.
The victim was hawking sachet water when the men, who were reportedly armed with broken bottles, accosted her and dragged her to a corner in the market, where they forcefully had carnal knowledge of her around 7pm.
Also, a 12 year-old girl in Abijo, in Ajah area of Lagos State was gang-raped by four masked men in her compound and was left bleeding from the wound she sustained in her private part. The incident happened on June 5.
In Warri, Delta State, a clergyman, Bishop Elijah was arrested on June 5 by the police for allegedly raping a 19 year-old lady. The clergyman who was accused of drugging the lady before carrying out the act was said to have been on the run for three weeks before he was finally arrested.
Cases of rape has become ramparts in Nigeria in recent times, although the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu had warned that cases of rape especially if minors might increase during the lockdown, most Nigerians are alarmed at the recent records.
Omozuwa’s death inspires the hashtag #justiceforuwa on social media and on the streets. Dorothy Njemanze, a female gender rights advocate said during the protest in Abuja, “Children are dying, women are dying, enough is enough.” She said the protesters are watching every step those in authority takes on sexual based violence.
Amnesty International, also joined the advocates for action to protect girl child and women in the country. The group advised President Muhammadu Buhari to declare rape as a national crisis in the country. The group demands that rape, which it described as “toxic culture” that encourages men to see women as passive sex objects must be discouraged.
Meanwhile the National Assembly has joined the move to tame the incessant rise in rape in the country, the Senate while debating a motion on the matter called for stiffer penalties for perpetrators of such act. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, also promised that lawmakers would engage state legislatures on domestication of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and the Child Rights Act.
Force Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has moved to strengthen and enhance the capacity of the units to respond to increasing challenges of sexual assaults and domestic/gender-based violence linked with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and other social ills within the country.
