Africa Press-Nigeria:
Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has rallied behind the campaign against sexual abuse and sought a declaration by the governors against the menace. Fayemi said there should be a national response to rape, stressing that it is a more serious issue than the current coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world.
The governor spoke on Friday in Ado Ekiti while signing into law the compulsory treatment and care for child victims of sexual violence bill. The bill meant to strengthen the Gender Based Violence Prohibition Law, 2012, had earlier been passed by the House of Assembly. Its enactment was against the backdrop of a rising incidence of rape in the country.
Fayemi sought partnership with the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Minister of Women Affairs, Paulin Tallen, for a coordinated response to rape and other sexual crimes. He said Nigeria might experience a second wave of COVID-19 infections if necessary precautions were not taken.
The governor said COVID-19 could be transmitted through sex, given the spate of rape cases in the country.
According to him, “I have no epidemiological proof that it can be transmitted through sex. However, since it can be passed on through other body contacts, to that extent, it can be linked.
“Rape is a more serious pandemic than COVID-19. The Minister of Women Affairs and Inspector General of police are to address governors on Wednesday at the meeting of the governors’ forum. They are to work with us on this issue and tell us what they have been doing. It has to be a national response. Rape is not a simple issue again.”
The governor disclosed that Ekiti was the first state in the country to open a sexual offenders’ register and enact a domestic violence law in a bid to name and shame offenders. “But it has still not stopped,” hence the need for a national response to the situation, he stated.
Fayemi directed the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to always oppose bail applications and plea-bargaining for rape offenders. He said the issue of rape had gone beyond what the government of a state could handle, saying he would use his position as NGF chairman to bring together the 36 states governors to declare a state of emergency on rape.
Speaking to journalists after assenting to the bill, Fayemi said, “The Ministry of Justice is further directed to reaffirm state policy of opposing bail and rejecting plea bargain proposals from perpetrators of rape and child defilement. The state government’s policy of ensuring that convicted sex offenders do not benefit from my power of prerogative of mercy remains in force.
“We will strengthen the Gender Based Violence Management Committee to continue to provide rapid and comprehensive responses to all forms of violence against women and children. In particular, the GBV Management Committee will be empowered to improve collection and analysis of data to monitor our GBV programmes. A state-wide sexual violence prevalence study will be commissioned in the general population to enable us have reliable data on the nature of the problem. I’m proud to sign a law that affirms one of the important policies of my administration.
“The ‘Compulsory Treatment and Care for Child Victims of Sexual Violence Bill, 2020’ reaffirms our commitment not only to prompt medical care for child victims of sexual violence but also supports our resolve to achieve the effective prosecution of sex offenders.”
Fayemi described the new law as timely. “It is fitting that the House of Assembly passed this legislation this week,” he said, adding, “Over the past few days, our country has witnessed acts of extreme violence perpetrated against women and children. In our state, the story is not different. Not a day passes without reported cases of rape and child defilement.”
He decried the dehumanisation of women and children by rapists and called for the declarations of a state of emergency to enable more decisive actions against the scourge.
