Female APC Chieftain Raises Alarm Over increase in Rape Cases

By Segun Adejumo

A female chieftain of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) in Osun State, Mrs Taiwo Oluga has raised alarm over what she described as rampant and worrisome cases of rape and other forms of sexual assault in Nigeria.

Taiwo Oluga

According to Oluga, available statistics has shown that there was upsurge in rape and sexual assault cases in the country in 2016, with young girls and ladies being the major victims.

Oluga, in an interview with CityMirorrNews on Sunday, said she was disturbed by the high rate of the sexual assaults, calling on relevant institutions to rise to the challenge and save the future of the young promising female Nigerians.

She attributed the increase in the rape cases to absence of justice for the sexual assault victims, shoddy investigation by security agents, prolonged trial and excessive and rigorous burden of proof on the victims.

According to Oluga, if rapists and perpetrators of sexual assaults were being given stiffer punishment by court on time, and the police were very professional and uncompromising on the rape cases brought before them, Nigerian society would be free of rapists.

Another reason for the prevailing rape cases in Nigeria, according to Oluga, is the lack of courage to report sexual assault cases to the security agents by the victim, apparently because of stigmatisation and lack of trust in the police.

She said many sexual assaults cases were not being reported to the police by the victims, even as she stated that many of the reported cases were not investigated properly and the perpetrators were not prosecuted.

Oluga urged the judiciary to always give speedy trial to rape and other forms of sexual assault cases brought to the court, just as she charged the police to lessen the burden of proof on the victims.

The female APC chieftain also encouraged rape victims to be bold enough to report to the police, saying that by doing that, they are telling the society they are not wayward and as well fighting stigmatisation.