The House of Representatives on Thursday adopted a motion to condemn police brutality and the rising cases of sexual violence and other social vices against women
The motion sponsored by Representative Rotimi Agunsoye was debated extensively with lawmakers reaching a resolution to urge states to domesticate the child rights act
The Legislators also urged the Inspector Genearal of police to set up rape investigation units in states across the Federation
The resolution of the House is coming days after emotions ran high across the country over the sexual assault of Uwa Omozuwa, and police brutality meted out on Tina Ezekwe
The lawmakers are worried that the ugly act is becoming a recurring and disturbing trend that must be addressed in Nigeria
Representative Rotimi Agunsoye and other lawmakers who took turn to speak expressed concern that the most common acts of violence against women and girls were Rape, Sexual harassment, emotional and psychological violence and socio-economic violence.
The lawmakers are advocating that there is a need for a better government policy and legislative framework to stem the rising violence against women as well as improve and support for women development.
Also, the House urged the judiciary to handle all rape related cases with dispatch and urged the government to provide testing kits for rape at the various Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) nationwide
Besides, the lawmakers charged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to publish names and pictures of convicted rapists
The House also mandated its Committees on Justice, Human Rights and Women Affairs to liaise with the relevant ministries and work on codifying all resolutions reached on the motion, so as to ensure stiffer penalty for rapists in the country.
However, it rejected a proposal by Rep James Abiodun Faleke for castration of convicted rapists .
Faleke (APC,Lagos) while contributing to debate on the motion said that will serve as deterrent to would be rapists..
Agunsoye, in his motion had expressed concerns over the the rising cases of rape and other violent act against women and girls in the country.
The lawmaker said it is alarming “that women and the girl child are daily exposed to this gender-based violence in Nigeria with negligible statistics of convictions compared to the prevalence of the dastardly acts and that weak institutions, poor enforcement, poverty and unacceptable social practices contribute to the ugly increase in violence against Nigerian women and girls”.
He added that “findings show that an alarming 28% of Nigerian women aged between 25 – 29 years have experienced some form of physical violence against them, many of which remain unreported, were not prosecuted or could not secure conviction. Reports also abound of unlawful activities of officers and men on the Nigerian Police Force for brutality, unprofessional shooting, harassment, unlawful detention, extortion
In her contribution, Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha praised the male members of the House for their equal disgust at the rising cases of sexual violence against women. She expressed worry; and wondered why the security agencies who have been mandated by the House of Representatives to fish out trigger-happy personnel have failed to do so, leading to the continuation of extrajudicial killings. She called for the speedy conclusion and outcome of all these investigations to be made known to concerned parties, the in-conclusion of such cases she stated gives impunity to such criminal minds.
Rep. Shehu Koko called for the implementation of spelt-out laws for crimes committed as a deterrent to those involved in such acts.
Rep. Koko called on all interests in the case from the investigating police, the victims, members of the society and health service providers to be highly responsive to such cases.
The lawmakers also concluded that Members dress in black, at the next sitting, in solidarity against the death of George Floyd and all other victim of racial discrimination and police brutality in the United States of America and the world at large.
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