Senate Condemns Rising Rape Cases, Asks IGP To Prosecute More Sexual Offenders          

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer

Ad

No king in US, no coronation in Africa, by Owei Lakemfa

By Owei Lakemfa In vain President Donald Trump cried out that he is no king, and does not intend to be one. However, many United States, US, citizens did not appear to be listening. At least some seven million of them did not believe him as they cramped into over 25,000 protest centres across 50…

Borno Gov, Zulum Raises Alarm, Says Boko Haram Now Using Drones for Attacks 

By Abiola Olawale Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has raised an alarm over an escalation in the Boko Haram insurgency, revealing that the terrorists are now deploying sophisticated armed drones in their attacks against military formations and civilian communities. Zulum specifically cited intelligence suggesting that recent deadly assaults, including one in the Wulgo…

ABU Slams ‘Fake’ Nuclear Weapon Claims, Reaffirms Commitment to Peaceful Research

By Abiola Olawale Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) has denied allegations that it is operating a secret nuclear weapons project for Nigeria. The institution, one of the nation's premier research universities, described a viral video promoting the claim as "baseless, mischievous," and "AI-generated," designed to misinform the public and tarnish its image. ​This comes after a…

Ad

By Augustine Osayande

In a bid to halt the rising cases of sexual abuse among Nigerians, members of the Senate on Tuesday have asked the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris to prosecute more sexual offenders with stiffer penalties.

Lamenting the rising cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence in the country, the Senators urged the IGP to investigate and prosecute cases of sexual abuse, violation and violence in line with the provisions of the extant laws of the federation.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly also mandated it Committees on Health, Women Affairs and Judiciary, Human Right and Legal Matters to engaged relevant stakeholders with a view to resolving these issues.

The Senate further urged the National Human Right Commission (NHRC), National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and paramilitary agencies to establish functional help desk to provide assistance and support to victims as well as handle such cases.

They asked all heads of courts to revisit the sentencing policy on all sexual offences and domestic violence to address the seriousness it deserves.

The development follows a motion by Senate deputy majority leader Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah representing Kebbi South. He noted the frightening increase in cases of sexual violence especially rape cases where more than half of the victims are minors and children below the age of consent.

The Senator further noted that in most of the cases, the perpetrators are usually familiar neighbours, employers of labour and close family members. “The activities of these sexual predators constitute a serious security threat to the larger segment of our society and are severely underreported” Na’Allah said.

He also expressed worry that the perversion is spreading across the country with both the male and female gender as victims especially in view of the poor prosecution and conviction numbers being turned out.

The Senator said the acts portray the country in bad light and are alien to cultural and religious orientation as a people. He recalled that the 7th Senate had passed the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act 2015 and the 8th Senate has passed the Sexual Offences in Tertiary Institutions Prohibition Bill 2016 to combat these perversions.

Ad

X whatsapp