By Mofe Ogbe Esq
The floodgates of issues bothering on rape lately in the
Nation’s electronic and print media is one of great concern to
every well meaning Nigerian. In the past few days, there has been
several hashtags, trends, tweets, allegations and counter
accusations from both females and males on rape. The most recent
cases which has raised a lot of concern from every part of the
country are the cases of Uwavera Omozuwa and Bakarat Bello. The
former was gruesomely raped and murdered in church while reading
while the latter was raped and murdered in her house. These were
promising young women who have now lost their lives to the menace
of rape that has bedeviled our society in recent times.
Clearly, rape is an unacceptable act and should be condemned by
all and sundry. There should never be any move or action on the
girl child that justifies her to be raped, it calls for discipline
on both genders to put the ugly incident to rest In the society.
The Laws governing rape in Nigeria are Section 282 of the Penal
Code applicable in the Northern Part, Section 357 and 358 of the
Criminal Code applicable in the Southern Part, Section 1 of
the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 applicable in
the FCT and Section 32 of the Childs Right Act 2003, applicable to
children. However, it is worthy to note that the domestication of
the VAPP Act by some states of the federation has watered down the
provisions of the Penal Code and the Criminal Code on rape due to
its flexibility and general applicability to all genders.
Rape could be defined as the unlawful sexual activity and
unusual sexual intercourse carried out forcefully or under threat
of injury against a person’s will or with a person beneath a
certain age or incapable of giving valid consent.
Additionally, Section 1(a) of the Violence Against Person
(Prohibition) Act VAPP Act 2015 defines rape to be ‘an act by a
person who (male or female) intentionally penetrates the Vagina,
Anus or Mouth of another person with any part of his or her body,
or anything else and the other party does not consent to the
penetration or the consent is obtained by force or by means of
false or fraudulent representation to the nature of the act or the
use of any substance or additive capable of taking away the
will of such person or in the cases of a married person by
impersonating his or her spouse’. Section 2 a, and 2b of the VAP
Act 2015 makes it a 14 years sentence for offenders less than 14
years and 12 years imprisonment without the option of fine for
offenders above 14 years. This is provisions are in tandem with
Section 32 of the Child Rights Act 2003.
This article emphasis on the domestication of the VAPP Act by
all states of the federation. I am of the opinion that the VAPP Act
is a progressive piece of legislation particularly because it has
cured a lot of defects and lacunas in the Penal Code and the
Criminal Code. For instance, other areas bordering around
rape that usually wouldn’t have passed as rape have now been
included like Male rape, penetration of any part of the body by
whatever means and so on. Surprisingly, the VAPP Act is only
applicable in four states of the federation and the FCT. These
states are Ogun state, Oyo State, Anambra State, Edo
state and the FCT.
While I commend the legislature of the various states, who have
taken the initiatives to protect their citizens especially the
women and children against rape, I beckon on the other 32 states of
the federation, to follow suit by domesticating the VAPP Act, in
order to protect the young and vulnerable people in the society.
The domestication of the VAPP Act by all states of the federation
will encourage victims of rape to boldly speak out and ensure that
they get justice against their rapist thereby deterring other
rapist moving about freely in the society.
I am also of the firm view that a lot more efforts should
be done by Parents and Guardians in the raising of the Male
and Female children to inculcate sexual awareness and education
especially in terms of summoning courage to speak out against rape.
The African culture of sweeping such rape issues under the carpet
and dealing with it privately has also encouraged the rapists in
the society.
Over the years, the society at large has given to more
concentration on the training of the female child at the expense of
the male child. As Parents and Guardians, we can’t expect either
the female or male Child to automatically become a
responsible adult in the future without proper upbringing from the
cradle. Therefore, conscious efforts must be made by Parents and
Guardians at all times to properly train both the female and male
child on sexual abuse.
I have come to realize that reporting rape incidents might be a
very emotional and difficult task for the victims of such heinous
acts. For such victims who are yet to summon the courage to speak
out, I advise them to consider the support of organizations in
speaking out. If you have ever been raped or know someone who has
been raped, then you should not suffer in silence. Report the
matter immediately to the relevant authorities as a means of
ensuring that the rapist does not continue in the act of raping
others who may be vulnerable in future. Indeed, No means No
regardless of the genders involved. I join my voice with other like
minds and use this medium to call on the relevant authorities and
organizations to ensure that Justice is meted out for Omozuwa and
Barakat.
If, you don’t know who or which organization to report to, you
can contact the writer of this article by sending an email to the
writer via moaattorneys@gmail.com[1]. The
writer who is passionate about human rights and the dignity of
humans, would like to hear your story and make sure you get
desired Justice by all means and at no cost.
MOFE OGBE ESQ, MANAGING PARTNER
MOA ATTORNEYS
By Mofe Ogbe Esq
The floodgates of issues bothering on rape lately in the
Nation’s electronic and print media is one of great concern to
every well meaning Nigerian. In the past few days, there has been
several hashtags, trends, tweets, allegations and counter
accusations from both females and males on rape. The most recent
cases which has raised a lot of concern from every part of the
country are the cases of Uwavera Omozuwa and Bakarat Bello. The
former was gruesomely raped and murdered in church while reading
while the latter was raped and murdered in her house. These were
promising young women who have now lost their lives to the menace
of rape that has bedeviled our society in recent times.
Clearly, rape is an unacceptable act and should be condemned by
all and sundry. There should never be any move or action on the
girl child that justifies her to be raped, it calls for discipline
on both genders to put the ugly incident to rest In the society.
The Laws governing rape in Nigeria are Section 282 of the Penal
Code applicable in the Northern Part, Section 357 and 358 of the
Criminal Code applicable in the Southern Part, Section 1 of
the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 applicable in
the FCT and Section 32 of the Childs Right Act 2003, applicable to
children. However, it is worthy to note that the domestication of
the VAPP Act by some states of the federation has watered down the
provisions of the Penal Code and the Criminal Code on rape due to
its flexibility and general applicability to all genders.
Rape could be defined as the unlawful sexual activity and
unusual sexual intercourse carried out forcefully or under threat
of injury against a person’s will or with a person beneath a
certain age or incapable of giving valid consent.
Additionally, Section 1(a) of the Violence Against Person
(Prohibition) Act VAPP Act 2015 defines rape to be ‘an act by a
person who (male or female) intentionally penetrates the Vagina,
Anus or Mouth of another person with any part of his or her body,
or anything else and the other party does not consent to the
penetration or the consent is obtained by force or by means of
false or fraudulent representation to the nature of the act or the
use of any substance or additive capable of taking away the
will of such person or in the cases of a married person by
impersonating his or her spouse’. Section 2 a, and 2b of the VAP
Act 2015 makes it a 14 years sentence for offenders less than 14
years and 12 years imprisonment without the option of fine for
offenders above 14 years. This is provisions are in tandem with
Section 32 of the Child Rights Act 2003.
This article emphasis on the domestication of the VAPP Act by
all states of the federation. I am of the opinion that the VAPP Act
is a progressive piece of legislation particularly because it has
cured a lot of defects and lacunas in the Penal Code and the
Criminal Code. For instance, other areas bordering around
rape that usually wouldn’t have passed as rape have now been
included like Male rape, penetration of any part of the body by
whatever means and so on. Surprisingly, the VAPP Act is only
applicable in four states of the federation and the FCT. These
states are Ogun state, Oyo State, Anambra State, Edo
state and the FCT.
While I commend the legislature of the various states, who have
taken the initiatives to protect their citizens especially the
women and children against rape, I beckon on the other 32 states of
the federation, to follow suit by domesticating the VAPP Act, in
order to protect the young and vulnerable people in the society.
The domestication of the VAPP Act by all states of the federation
will encourage victims of rape to boldly speak out and ensure that
they get justice against their rapist thereby deterring other
rapist moving about freely in the society.
I am also of the firm view that a lot more efforts should
be done by Parents and Guardians in the raising of the Male
and Female children to inculcate sexual awareness and education
especially in terms of summoning courage to speak out against rape.
The African culture of sweeping such rape issues under the carpet
and dealing with it privately has also encouraged the rapists in
the society.
Over the years, the society at large has given to more
concentration on the training of the female child at the expense of
the male child. As Parents and Guardians, we can’t expect either
the female or male Child to automatically become a
responsible adult in the future without proper upbringing from the
cradle. Therefore, conscious efforts must be made by Parents and
Guardians at all times to properly train both the female and male
child on sexual abuse.
I have come to realize that reporting rape incidents might be a
very emotional and difficult task for the victims of such heinous
acts. For such victims who are yet to summon the courage to speak
out, I advise them to consider the support of organizations in
speaking out. If you have ever been raped or know someone who has
been raped, then you should not suffer in silence. Report the
matter immediately to the relevant authorities as a means of
ensuring that the rapist does not continue in the act of raping
others who may be vulnerable in future. Indeed, No means No
regardless of the genders involved. I join my voice with other like
minds and use this medium to call on the relevant authorities and
organizations to ensure that Justice is meted out for Omozuwa and
Barakat.
If, you don’t know who or which organization to report to, you
can contact the writer of this article by sending an email to the
writer via moaattorneys@gmail.com[1]. The
writer who is passionate about human rights and the dignity of
humans, would like to hear your story and make sure you get
desired Justice by all means and at no cost.
MOFE OGBE ESQ, MANAGING PARTNER
MOA ATTORNEYS