Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has on Tuesday, during plenary session, revealed that the nation has no choice but to address the increase of r ape and sexual assault, as a security priority.
He further added that: “not only must we crack down severely on perpetrators, but we must arrest the very idea that Nigeria is unsafe for children, women, and vulnerable persons.”
This came as the the Senate on Tuesday, passed a motion to investigate the increase in r ape and sexual assault, across the country.
The motion titled: “Urgent need to investigate the alarming rate of R ape and Sexual Assault against Women, Children, and Vulnerable people across the country”, was introduced by the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah (Kebbi South).
Na’Allah in his lead debate, called for urgent attention to the “frightening increase in cases of sexual violence, notably r ape, where more than half of the victims are minors below the age of consent.”
He noted that in most cases, the perpetrators are individuals familiar to the victims, and include neighbours, employers, and family members, adding that, the motion is meant to express the Senate’s concern that the activities of certain sexual predators, represent a serious security threat to vulnerable segments of society.
He stated that r ape and sexual assault figures, reveal that these crimes ignore gender, as both males and females are victims. “What is worse, many perpetrators are never brought to justice, due to poor rates of prosecution and convictions”, he added.
Saraki, lauded the Deputy Majority Leader, for introducing the motion and rallying his distinguished colleagues behind the effort to raise alarm on the rise of r ape and sexual assault in the country.
“The distinguished Majority Leader has once again shown that he is a leader of compassion, who believes in the rule of law. The crimes of r ape and sexual assault that afflict today’s Nigeria cannot be tolerated, and demand increased attention from law enforcement and civil society”, the Senate President said.
The Senate in its resolutions, urged the Inspector General of Police, IGP, to investigate and prosecute violent sexual abuse to the fullest extent of the law, and mandated the relevant Senate Committees to exercise their legislative and oversight function, to seek solutions that would drastically reduce the incidents of r ape and sexual assault.
The Red Chamber further urged the National Human Rights Commission, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, and other security agencies, to establish functional help desks to provide increased support for victims.
They further urged Judges and Magistrates, to revisit court sentencing policies on violent sexual offences, to reflect the very serious nature of the crimes.
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