The Chief Judge of Jigawa State, Justice Umar M. Sadiq, has described the rising rape cases in the state as a worrisome development that must be tackled at all cost.
Speaking on a radio programme monitored in Dutse, the state capital yesterday, the jurist, however, expressed confidence that with the recent law signed by Governor Badaru Abubakar and the renewed determination of the judiciary, rape cases would soon be tackled effectively.
Underscoring the severity of the problem in Jigawa, the jurist said there were 247 rape cases across the eight High Courts in the state.
Out of the figure, he said, 51 cases have been effectively dealt with and convictions secured in this year alone.
He said though, the issue of rape was not peculiar to the state; the state judiciary was rising to the occasion, most especially, since the signing into law, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, which prescribes death sentence or life imprisonment for convicted offenders of rape.
He added that on a weekly basis, seven to eight cases charged to court by the State Ministry of Justice were related to rape, followed by murder and armed robbery.
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