Rapists in Akwa Ibom State are in for great trouble and hard times going by the determination of the government and people of the Niger Delta state to further compound their woes. This follows the signing of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, VAPPL 2020 by Governor Udom Emmanuel, stipulating life imprisonment for rape culprits in Akwa Ibom, a further indication that the present administration means business in the war against this age-long pandemic.
VAPPL 2020:
The law which empowers judges to hand down life imprisonment to anyone convicted of rape in the state also provides 14 years imprisonment for perpetrators of gender-based violence and other sexual offences in the state.
Already the development has started to attract the applause of right groups and well-meaning individuals. For example, the Foundation for Civic Education, Human Rights and Development Advancement, FoCEHRaDA, posited that the encompassing nature of the Law will reduce the possibilities of women becoming culpable of rape incidents. In a recent statement in Uyo, the executive director of the Foundation, Barr. Clifford Thomas, described the law as a clear departure from the regular manner of dealing with rape case and rapists in Akwa Ibom,
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reasoning that will reduce frame-ups, making both the female and male gender susceptible of being raped by any gender.
“The Law is a clear departure from conventional rape. It posits that both the female and male gender could be raped. Rape is not just where the female gender is molested, and forceful carnal knowledge had of her. It goes beyond. The insertion of any erect object into the orifice or opening in the body of a person, without consent, amounts to rape. The law gives the offence of Rape, a more comprehensive definition, which is all encompassing.
“Anybody could be a victim of rape, according to the law. The situation where the male gender is seen as the prime suspect or accused person in rape proceedings has changed. Frame-ups in Rape are reduced now. Both the female and male gender are susceptible of being raped by any gender. The law is very comprehensive,” the statement reads.
FoCEHRaDA lauded the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly for passing the Bill, to give vent to the yearnings of the people, adding that “the previous law in the Criminal Code Laws of Akwa Ibom State had gaps that were exploited, thereby, rendering it weak. The rights group believes the penalty for convicts of Life Imprisonment would serve as sufficient deterrent to persons who would otherwise want to rape by using an erect object(s) to penetrate the orifice of another.
Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. AniekanEdem, also won the heart of the human rights body as the group lauded him for the industry he applied to the sensitive and important piece of legislation. FoCEHRaDA also acknowledged the contribution of the Deputy Speaker of the state assembly, Mrs. Felicia Bassey, for painstakingly gathering stakeholders to support the Bill.
Rapists in Akwa Ibom:
Rapes have become recurring phenomena in the state in recent times. Two weeks ago, the Akwa Ibom State Police Commands arrested a 60-year-old village head of Ikot Inyang, in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area, Etteidung Stephen Uyoe, for allegedly defiling an 11-year-old girl. The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Fredrick Nnudam who disclosed this in Uyo, said the police also arrested one Pastor Victor Victor David in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area for defiling an 8-year-old girl.
On May 28, 2020, police arrested a 30-year-old man identified as Okon Henry, a native of Mbokpueyokan village, Urue-Offong Oruko Local Government Area for forcefully raping his 17-year-old niece. On 13th June, 2020,operatives of ‘C’ Division arrested one Solomon Okon and Becky Umoretuk who conspired and lured a 26-yr-old lady to their house and unlawfully assaulted her with fist blow and machete, and in the process, Solomon Okon forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of the victim.
Just last week, a 35-year-old pastor in the state was arrested by the police for allegedly raping a16-year-old girl inside his church. The culprit, Nnamso Friday Jacob, otherwise known as ‘Major Prophet Honesty Jesus,’ drugged the girl before violating her. The incident took place on June 23 at Mr Jacob’s church, the Living Power of Zion Church, Nduo Eduo, Okon Eket, according to police spokesperson in the state, N-nudam Fredrick.
The police said the girl went for “counselling and deliverance” fixed by the suspect.
“While she was in the prophet’s counselling room, the suspect administered an intoxicating liquid substance to the victim and thereafter took advantage of the victim and had unlawful carnal knowledge of her,” Mr Fredrick, a chief superintendent of police, said.
Mr Jacob is the second pastor to be arrested for rape in Akwa Ibom in less than a month. The police had earlier said a pastor was arrested in the state for keeping eight teenage girls, between the ages of 13 and 16, in a so-called deliverance centre and allegedly raping one of them said to be 15 years old. The pastor, Inimfon Eyo Inyang, 33, who was among the 12 people arrested for rape in the state, also attempted to rape a 21-year-old girl.
The Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, Imohimi Edgal, has wowed to prosecute “sexual predators” arrested in the state. Two computer instructors who gang-raped a 17-year-old girl in 2018 in Uyo were recently convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The convicted men were said to have cooked rice with substance suspected to be Indian hemp for the girl who was being tutored by them on how to use a computer. She felt weak and drowsy after eating the rice before the men raped her.
There has been an increase in rape and other sex offences in Nigeria lately. Nigerian authorities have been under pressure to take firmer actions on the issue. Between January and May, 2020, Nigeria reportedly recorded 717 rape cases.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, disclosed this after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja recently. According to him, 799 suspects have been arrested while 631 cases have been conclusively investigated and charged to court, with 52 cases still under investigated.
“I will call on every Nigerian that comes across any victim of sexual offences, rape or gender-based violence to quickly report to law enforcement agents because keeping quiet without reporting it will give room for the perpetrators to continue to commit the offences,” he said.
War Against Rape:
State governors across the country had decided to declare state of emergency on rape following spate of sexual violence to break the spiral of silence associated with rape and the seeming lack of legal frameworks against that had further made the culprits untouchable. Stakeholders and concerned groups as well as individuals have been advocating stiffer punishment for violators of the Child’s Right Act, perpetrators of violence against citizens of both gender with only limited successes.
It is easy to understand why the Commissioner for Agriculture and Women Affairs, Dr. Glory Edet, described the new law as a sledge hammer for rapists and perpetrators of gender-based violence. One would rightly agree with the Women Affairs commissioner that VAPPL, 2020 is one of the best things that has happened to protect the female gender as the law prove to serve as deterrent to defaulters. Although violators of the female gender had some years to spend in prison, the life imprisonment recommended by the law
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will discourage the spate of violence against women in the society.
In addition to the ongoing walks and protests against rape across the state, there is need to embark on sensitization and awareness campaigns on the new law. Law enforcement agencies must do more than arrest the culprits; they must be made to face the full weight of the law.
