f the victim is an underage, the offence should be life imprisonment. This is because it is horrible and pervasive to defile a minor. Anybody who rapes a child is mentally sick. Such an individual should not live among people. But when the victim is an adult, the jail term should be in the region of 20 to 25 years.
In cases where the accused persons are
minors, they should be made to go through reformation. This is because
you cannot destroy the life of children because they commit a crime.
Such children should be in reformation centres until when experts
certify them okay for release. This is what most criminal laws suggest.
Such minors should remain in rehabilitation centres until medical and
psychological reports say they could be taken back to the society.- • Festus Keyamo (Human rights lawyer)
There is no punishment that would serve
as a deterrent. We need to find a way to stop them from raping. That is
the first thing we need to do. It is not everybody that is a serial
rapist. We need to study the system in which we operate and come up with
what could stop it. We need to do a proper research. We have academics
in this country. They need to go out there and do something that would
help us to find a solution. We need facts and data to help us to
determine what would work for us.
If you say they should be castrated,
that would not help us. How many people do you want to castrate? If you
say they should be sent to life imprisonment, how many people do you
want to send to life imprisonment? Many of the suspects could be helped.
Everybody now rapes – children rape. Do you also want to castrate them
or send them to life imprisonment?
We need to study the trend to determine
the appropriate punishment. Germany adopts castration but most of the
times it is applied to serial rapists. There are a lot of things we do
not know about those who commit the offence. That is why we need a
research on the issue.- • Dr. Princess Olufemi-Kayode (Executive Director, Media Concern Initiative)
For certain offences such as robbery,
the victims may feel the pain of losing their properties. But when it
comes to rape, which brings psychological effects for life, the
implications for the offenders should be a huge one. I know somebody
that was violated. He is now approaching the age of 40 but the trauma
continues. For example, if somebody violates children, there should be
adequate punishments. Rapists are not sane members of the society. They
should be castrated. Rape should be taken seriously as corruption. I
will recommend 30 years’ imprisonment. The rapists should also pay for
the crime committed. It is not about jail term alone. The rapists should
be made to pay like N20m or even N30m. The victims should receive
money.
The criminal justice system should make
this provision mandatory. I think if those intending to rape are aware
of this, it would serve as a deterrent. Handing out six-month
imprisonment to rapists has not served any purpose. Rape has become so
rampant that something drastic has to be done. Because of the
psychological effects on the victims, I think it deserves a more
stringent punishment. You can imagine the pains of a parent whose child
has been violated by one idiot. It calls for concern and action.- • Olufemi Aduwo (Rights activist)
The incidence of rape cases in the
country is alarming and absurd. Something drastic and urgent should be
done to check the trend. The trauma suffered by victims cannot be
overemphasised. I think there should be a harsh legislation that would
serve as deterrence to people who engage in rape. The minimum jail term
they should be given is 35 years. Also, rape cases should be given
accelerated hearing. In the same vein, our law should also frown on any
form of sexual molestation. When you go to the market, you see male
traders sexually harassing female buyers, forcefully holding them and
dragging them. This is where it begins. When you jail people for
touching girls, ladies and women illicitly, rapists would know that the
game is up.- • Mrs. Funmi Abegunde (Retired banker)
A rapist is a criminal and should be
tried in line with international criminal law. A rapist devalues
humanity, devalues womanhood and creates an atmosphere of insecurity for
all humans. Being raped is a death sentence for young, middle age and
old women. It is very difficult and challenging and a trauma for victims
of rape to confess that she’s been raped. It is an injury for life and a
highly premeditated act by the rapist. In this context, if a rape is a
premeditated act against a female, we should protect at all times, our
humanity and womanhood. If a rapist is caught in the act or is proved
beyond any reasonable doubt that a man has committed a rape, the Mosaic
law should be applicable to him. His daughter, wife or murder should be
raped. Or at best, he should be sentenced to life imprisonment.- • Siyan Oyeweso (Professor of History)
Rape is a criminal offence all over the
world and it carries severe punishment. In some countries, especially,
communist and Islamic-oriented countries, it could take life
imprisonment.
Even in liberal western countries like
USA, UK, France, rape carries many years of imprisonment. In Nigeria,
culprits are hardly jailed for rape.
Even the victims and their relatives hardly get the cases reported. This is because of the perceived stigma.
It a sin against God and a crime against humanity, which in my opinion should attract nothing less than 10-year imprisonment.- • Dr. Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri (HOD, Mass Communication, Delta State University, Abraka)
I think the Lagos State Government has
done the appropriate thing. The law specifies a life imprisonment. If
that could be replicated at the national level and implemented, it would
serve as a deterrent. There was a time in Lagos when people convicted
of defiling minors were fined N1,000. The punishment is now life
imprisonment but I don’t think many people are aware of the law.
The Lagos State Government should be
emulated by the Federal Government if it sincerely wants to stop rape.
It is not just about making a law; enforcement needs to be stepped up.
It is unfortunate that rape, despite the campaign, has been on the
increase. This should worry relevant stakeholders. – • Juliana Iregbu (Programme Officer, Centre for Constitutional Governance)
My personal opinion is that the
punishment should be life imprisonment and nothing else. The traumatic
effects of rape are far-reaching and cannot be quantified. Rapists
destroy lives. Imagine what just happened in India where a lady who was
raped three years ago was raped again by the same people. That is what
happens when stringent punishments are not applied to such a grievous
crime. It is a very terrible crime and should not be seen to be
condoned. We have cases of fathers molesting their daughters and girls
being raped at gunpoint. The girls and women affected are never the same
again. I support life imprisonment for rapists. Our daughters are
endangered in this country and instead of the perpetrators to be jailed
for life, we go about blaming women generally. So, for me, it should be
life imprisonment. Anything else falls short.- • Aisha Yesufu (Entrepreneur, activist)
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