FCT women demand swift prosecution of sexual predators

Women groups
in the FCT, Monday, staged a walk around the metropolis, demanding speedy
prosecution of perpetrators of rape and other sexual offences as a way of
ending the menace in the country.

The News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the walk took the women groups to the
office of the Inspector-General of Police and the Supreme Court, both in Abuja.

The women
groups comprising United Nations’ agencies, faith-based organizations,
businesswomen as well as female military and paramilitary personnel, were
engaged in the walk to end rape.

The women
bore placards, with inscriptions such as “Stop Blaming the Victims or
Survivors’’; “Stop Rape Now or Be Castrated’’; “No Means No’’; “Stand Against
Rape’’ and “Stop Demanding Sex for Grades, Food’’ among others.

They trekked from the Eagle Square to the Supreme Court, the Force headquarters
to the Ministry of Women Affairs to express their grievances.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, said the walk was part of the 16 days of
activism against gender-based violence, which sought to create more awareness
on all sexual offences and violence against women and children.

“The menace of rape is on the increase and at a very alarming
rate.

“Reports of rape are on the news everyday and it is heartbreaking to know that
children and women are living in perpetual fear on daily basis.

“In view of your strategic role as the apex court in Nigeria,
coupled with the trust and goodwill you inspire, that my ministry is appealing
for speedy prosecution of perpetrators of rape to end impunity and ensure
enforcement of law and social justice for all“, she said.

Responding, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed, represented by
Mr. Ibrahim Gold from the Litigation
Department of the apex court, restated the commitment of the judiciary to
ensuring the prosecution of perpetrators of rape.

He urged the women groups to educate the public, especially
victims of rape and other forms of gender-based violence, to seek justice in
the court of law.

Mohammed also encouraged
women to attend court proceedings during the hearing of rape cases to narrate
the incidents themselves.

Similarly, the minister, who led the women to the office of
the Inspector General of Police, appealed to the police to ensure that all
cases of rape and sexual offences against women and children were treated with
all seriousness and confidentiality.

Tallen urged the police to investigate fully and facilitate
collection of forensic evidence of all sexual offences.

This, she said, would aid the prosecution of perpetrators and
ensure that their data were updated at the sexual offenders’ registry.

“The police are the foundation of any case and, if we do not
get it right, all the others will not work,’’ she said.

Responding on behalf of the IG, the DIG Operations,
Abdulmajid Ali, assured the women of the commitment of the police authorities
in ensuring that all perpetrators of the crime were arrested and prosecuted in
accordance with the law.

He said that the police had trained its officers and men
handling rape and other sexual offences, adding that they would be dispatched to different commands to enable them handle such incidences
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