By Martin Cole-
Multiple cases of rape in Nigeria during the lockdown are in the Nigerian courts and call for urgent action, The Eye Of Media.Com has heard.
Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, has called on law enforcement to expedite rape cases in Nigeria which spiked during lockdown. She called on judges and the police to treat reported rapes with the level of seriousness they command.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
Tallen(pictured) said rapes reached an “alarming rate” three times the typical level during a time women and children were locked down with their abusers. Every state in Nigeria was affected, she said.
“We are calling for legal intervention,” she said. “From details that we have, there are hundreds of cases that are within our courts that have not been addressed and out of each one case, be sure that there are 10 that have not been reported.”
Her call comes following recent outrage in Nigeria about some of the vicious rapes that have been reported to have taken place during the coronavirus lockdown in West Africa.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
Tallen raised the issue at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting where she added that all 36 states in Nigeria had been affected.
“I’m sure you are aware that for the past few weeks, the country has witnessed a lot of outrage and outcry because of the pandemic within the pandemic that we are facing. I know before COVID-19, we have always had pandemic of rape cases and gender-based violence.
“But with the lockdown due to COVID-19, women and children are locked down with their abusers and the number has escalated three times. There is no state that is an exception. This has reached an embarrassing situation that a memo was presented in council, calling for immediate intervention, legal and prompt dispensation of justice in the cases.
“Because, from the statistics we have and from the meetings I had with the 36 states, commissioners of women affairs, we have hundreds of cases within our courts that have not been addressed.
And out of one case that has been reported, be sure they are 10 others that have not been reported. As a result, we called for aggressive media campaigns, public enlightenment for people to rise up and speak out against abuse of minors and rape cases.
“We also called on the judiciary for prompt dispensation of cases and the police to ensure rape cases are not treated with levity or wished away. These are issues that were presented before council and I am happy to announce that we got the full support of Mr. President and all members of council, that government will take decisive actions at the highest level to protect women and children in this country.”
“It is horrific because embarrassment is an understatement and it doesn’t give Nigeria a good image. We are destroying the future generation because, if you rape a child, you have destroyed that child for life and that is not acceptable.”
She said a team had been set up to investigate the matter at all levels, adding that the Ministry of Women Affairs is working with National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to unravel the mystery behind the mystique.
“I have put in place a team. In fact, a research is going on at all the state levels, while we have the national data collection at the ministry. We are also working closely with National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), to find out the reasons why a man of 80, 75, 60 will rape a child of one, two years.
“In fact, the recent one in Kaduna is a father raping his daughter, a child of three months. He has been doing that until the child turned nine months and he was caught.
So, many horrible cases that will break your heart. I think there is more to it. It is either diabolical or mental case. So, these are the issues and a research is going on to identify the cause because, the Ministry of Health is also concerned and we are working with them. There are issues of mental health and other issues that need to be addressed,” she said.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar