The increasing report of sexual violence and rape is alarming and dangerous. IMPACTNEWS is deeply worried about this. This beastly and inhuman behaviour is gradually becoming regular occurrence in Nigeria. What is most unfortunate is the fact that minors are not spared.
On 22nd June 2020, a 22- year old man, Ikechukwu Okoli was arrested for allegedly raping a 10 year-old girl in Anambra State. According to report, Okoli lured his victim into his room and had canal knowledge of her. Also in Kano, a man was arrested after 40 people were serially raped over a period of year in Dangora. According to the police, the rape included an attack on an 80-year-old woman and children as young as 10 year-old.
In May, Uwavera Omozuwa, a 100 level Microbiology student of University of Benin was raped and her head smashed with fire extinguisher in a church in Benin City, Edo State. She died few days later in a hospital. Another student in Oyo state, Barakat Bello was also allegedly gang-raped and murdered few days after the incident in Benin City. In Kaduna, one 18 year-old lady simply identified as Jenifer was gang-raped by five boys after she was given a liquid content containing alcohol and drugs. In Jigawa state, a 12 year-old girl was raped for over two months by 12 persons, including a 57 year-old man. In Ekiti a 17 year-old girl was also gang-raped.
It is unfortunate that reported cases of rape continued to swell in statistics in the country. The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu said that between January and May, the country recorded 719 cases of rape. It is common that victims of rape are most often reluctant to report such cases due to fear, stigmatization and other reasons. IMPACT NEWS can only imagine the number of cases that had escaped police radar between January and May.
A survey published by NOIPolls in 2019 revealed that one in every three girl-child living in Nigeria could have experience at least one form of sexual assault by the time they reach 25.
IMPACTNEWS without equivocation condemned rape and we call for practical solution to this shameful scourge. We understand that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has declared state of emergency on rape and vowed to domesticate the Child’s Protection Act and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act in their various states. This is commendable but, considering Nigerian leaders’ penchant for lip-services, we can only hope that they would put action behind their commitments.
We challenge these governors to emulate Lagos, Ekiti and Osun states, and open Sex Offenders Register to shame sexual offenders across the country. The protection of the girl-child in Nigeria deserves far more than lips service.
