Assembly asks police to enforce law against rape

The Lagos State House of Assembly says the police and other security agencies in the state must enforce existing criminal laws in order to reduce sexual abuse cases.

A lawmaker, Mojisola Meiranda, representing Apapa Constituency I, who made the call under Matter of Urgent Public Importance, alerted her colleagues on Monday to the rising incidents of rape and other domestic abuse in the state.

She stated that the rate at which sexual abuse and criminal cases occured in the state was becoming alarming and disheartening.

She said, “One of the pathetic cases was that of a 13-year-old girl, who was gang-raped by three men, including a 60-year-old in the Owode Ibeshe area of Ikorodu, Lagos State. She later got pregnant.

“Parents should be watchful of the kind of people they leave their children and wards with. Children should also be educated to raise the alarm when they sense danger.”

Another member of the House, Nurudeen Solaja-Saka, said he was aware of the case, adding that the culprits carried out the act in an uncompleted building in Ibeshe.

He informed the Assembly that the police, chiefs and the monarch of the town were investigating the matter.

A lawmaker, Moshood Oshun, observed that rape victims were prone to stigmatisation in the society, adding that efforts should be made to protect the victims and their families.

“We must also make use of the sex register and publicise rape offenders so that people who are residing with them will know the kind of person they are living with,” he added.

The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, said there should a regular campaign against violence, rape and other abuses, adding that the police should fully enforce the laws in violence cases.

He said, “Rape cases must go beyond calling the attention of parents; relevant agencies must be invited to enforce existing laws to prosecute offenders in order to serve as a deterrent to others.”

The House subsequently resolved to call on the Lagos State Attorney General and Minister for Justice, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the Commissioner of Police to move against rape and other abuses in the state. The Assembly further advised that the  gang-raping of the13-year-old girl in Ikorodu should not be swept under the carpet.