Rape incidents and other forms of sexual assault are on the increase. Most are neither investigated and if investigated at all, the perpetrators are not prosecuted.
A human rights lawyer, Mr. Evans Ufeli, at the 5th edition of a quarterly public dialogue that focuses on child abuses and parenting in Lagos, ‘The Conversation’, on November 8, 2015, said Nigeria has recorded only 18 rape convictions in its legal history.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the Lagos State Government on Tuesday said that no fewer than 150 cases of sexual and physical abuse were reported in the state in the last one year.
The Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf disclosed this at a ministerial news conference on Tuesday, April 26, in Ikeja, Lagos.
Apart from the data given on Tuesday by Akinbile-Yussuf, the Director of the Office of Public Defender, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi at the 2015 Press Week organised by the Lagos State Governor’s Office Correspondents had expressed worry over the growing cases of rape.
Rotimi said between January and September that year, the OPD handled about 70 child defilement cases and 406 rape cases, adding that 1,143 of such cases were treated between 2007 till then.
The TAMAR Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Enugu, on Wednesday April 20, also revealed that it has received reports of 472 separate cases of sexual assault in Enugu State since 2014.
The report released by the centre indicates that there were 14 cases of attempted rape, 37 incidents involved domestic violence-related forms of sexual assault, 42 cases involved infants below five years, 86 incidents affected children between six and 10 years while those from 11 to 13 years were victims in 73 of the reported cases.
Teenagers between 14 and 17 years were victims of sexual assault in 81 cases, 86 incidents involved those between 18 and 22 years, while 73 other cases concerned victims between 23 and 29 years.
Thirty years and above were victims in 31 reported cases.
According to the Executive Director, Women Aid Collective, Mrs Joy Ezeilo Ezeilo, available records revealed that 89 victims were gang raped, seven victims were not able to remember the number of persons that raped them.
The records further revealed that, in most of the cases, the perpetrators were known to their victims.
The records also show that out of the 472 cases reported, 354 persons knew their perpetrators while 118 persons do not know them.
Of the 354 perpetrators known, 52 are family members while 302 are not family members.
However, out of the total of 472 cases of sexual assault recorded by the centre, only 37 were charged to court.
Out of the 37 cases that went to court, five were discharged, seven are at prosecution stage while conviction was recorded in one case, with the perpetrator sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Twenty-four other cases are awaiting trial, according to Ezeilo.
Also, the centre recorded 15 pregnancies as a result of the 472 sexual assault incidents, as well as two cases of HIV infection.
Here are three tips to keep you safe;
Do not ignore your feelings.
“If a place or person makes you feel uncomfortable or uneasy—leave,” advises a police department in North Carolina, U.S.A. “Don’t let anyone convince you to stay if your instincts are telling you otherwise.”
Act confidently; be focused.
Sexual predators hunt for the unsuspecting and vulnerable. So walk confidently and stay alert.
React quickly. Scream.
Escape or fight back using the element of surprise. And, if possible, run to a safe place and call the police.
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