NHRC boss wants state of emergency declared on rape, SGBV

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on authorities to declare a state of emergency on rape and other forms of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), saying that “these are criminal offences that have a devastating effect on both the survivors and the society at large.”

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu, who made this call in Abuja in a joint press conference with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP), observed that it was high time a more stringent national action was taken to ensure that members of the public take cases of rape and other SGBV with the seriousness they deserve.

• Police arrest man for allegedly raping, killing brother’s wife in Zamfara
• Mobilise first ladies, lead protest against rape, NANS urges Aisha Buhari

There have been an increase in cases of rape recently with the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, saying Nigeria recorded 717 rape incidents between January and May, 2020.

The Executive Secretary of NHRC disclosed that the Commission in partnership with NAPTIP is organising a 5-day activism with the theme: Equality and Dignity for Nigerian women, which will take place across the states of the federation, beginning with a walk in Abuja from June 16 to sensitize the public on the dangers of rape and other SGBV, as well as the steps to take to address them.

“At the headquarters in Abuja, the Commission, with its partners and other stakeholders will visit the National Assembly, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Ministry of Women Affairs, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, the Inspector General of Police, the Ministry of Information, the Media Houses and other relevant stakeholders on a wake-up call to join the fight against rape and SGBV”, the Executive Secretary stated.

Ojukwu also called for the domestication of Violence Against Persons Prohibition law in all the states of the federation, pointing out that recent happenings concerning rape and other related human rights violations have further necessitated the need to have the various State Assemblies domesticate the VAPP law to effectively tackle these atrocious human rights violations.

Similarly, he called on all stakeholders such as the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, traditional and religious gate keepers, political opinion leaders and wives of governors to live up to their responsibilities by putting in place enabling environment for the protection of the dignity of lives of women and girls in Nigeria.

He also advocated for the strengthening of institutions such as the Police, NAPTIP, NHRC and the judiciary tasked with the provision of the legal and other support services to survivors as well as ensure an accelerated disposal of cases on rape and SGBV.

In her statement, the Director General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, called for harmonization of all laws against rape to ensure that the punishment against rape is life imprisonment as prescribed by VAPP Act 2015.

She also urged members of the public to desist from treating rape, spousal battery, sodomy and other aberrative behaviours as family matters, but to rather treat them as crimes against the state, “which they are”.