Vexed by the increasing rate of sexual attacks against young girls and boys by adults and the lack of concerted commitment on the part of the Federal Government to check the ugly trend, a call has gone to the wife of the President to devote more time to battle this menace which has become a hydra-headed monster.
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) – a development inclined Non-Governmental organization which made the observation, counseled the President’s wife Mrs. Patience Jonathan to stay out of local politics of her state of birth – River State and rather work to become international Icon in the fight against rape of Nigerian youngsters.
In a statement jointly endorsed by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of Media Affairs, Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA charged the office of the First lady of Nigeria and the wives of the governors of the 36 States and the minister of the Federal Capital Territory to embrace the fight against rape as an urgent but national thematic mandates even as the Rights group tasked the nation’s judiciary and the hierarchy of the National Assembly to consolidate the extant laws against rape; ensure that police operatives are trained to tackle the menace and to ensure quick justice delivery in cases of rape.
The Rights group regretted that police operatives across the country are either ill-trained with the relevant skills to investigate serial cases of rape and therefore undermine prosecution of offenders or the offices of the Federal Attorney General and States Attorneys – General have failed to follow through prosecution of rape cases across board.
HURIWA therefore appealed to the wife of the President to show greater interest in fighting the menace of rape and ensure that the Federal Government declares a national state of emergency on rape and sexual violations of youngsters by Nigerian adult sexual predators.
In the considered opinion of HURIWA, the office of the Federal Attorney General working with the Attorneys-General of the 36 States and Abuja including the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, should establish a national data base of rape convicts and introduce the wearing of electronic monitoring devices by rape convicts to check any attempt to re-offend.
HURIWA stated thus; “We call on our dear first lady to play less of politics in River State and to elevate the campaign against rape to a higher pedestal because of the frequency and severity of these crimes against humanity.
“In Nigeria, we expect the wife of the President to use her national and international clout and visibility to wage relentless advocacy against rape of innocent Nigerian girls/boys and to compel relevant agencies to fight sexual offences and trafficking in persons for sexual slavery”.
The Rights group expressed conviction that if the wife of the President can achieve national milestones against rape of Nigerian youngsters then, generations yet unborn will be eternally appreciative of her heroic role.
