… 799 Suspects Arrested So Far
Williams Anuku
Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu has disclosed that 717 rape cases have been reported in Nigeria between January-May 2020.
He said about 799 suspects have been arrested, with 631 cases conclusively investigated and charged to court while 52 cases are left and under investigation.
The IG who met with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday, said the surge in rape and gender based violence was highly regrettable but the force is doing everything possible to curtail it.
Adamu linked the reported incidences to the lockdown recently imposed in the country by the Federal and State governments.
“It has come to the public knowledge now that because of the COVID-19 restrictions, we have surge in cases of rape and gender-based violence. These are cases that are now coming up but we want to let members of the public know that, rape and gender based violence has been there.
“The law enforcement agents have been dealing with this cases, in most cases, members of the public are not aware of the actions that the law enforcement agents have been taking.
“The Nigeria police so far from January-May 2020, we have recorded about 717 rape incidents that were reported across the country, about 799 suspects have been arrested, 631 cases conclusively investigated and charged to court and 52 cases are left and under investigation.
“The police and other security agencies and other non-governmental organisations have been collaborating, to see to it that these cases of rape and gender based violence are dealt with, “the IG stated.
According to the Police Boss, NGOs and CSOs that have the capacity to deal with this kind of offenses, have been cooperating with law enforcement agencies through management of victims of rape and similar offenses and procedures for collecting evidence, towards successful prosecution.
The IG also revealed that ritual killings inspires some of the reported cases.
He advised the public to always report cases of rape to security agents as it aids in their investigations.
He also noted that government has decided to take the matter a notch higher because of the scourge we have noticed.
He said, “I will call on every Nigerian that has or comes across any victim of sexual offenses or rape or gender based violence, to quickly report to law enforcement agents. Because, keeping it without reporting it will give room for the perpetrators to continue to commitment the offenses.
“It is a very wicked offense, it is very serious offense, it is very wicked of an individual to engage in rape or defilement. And there are a lot of causes, some are doing it for ritual purposes, some are doing it because they are within the family and they see the victims and have the urge to go into it and do it.
“But such people should not be allowed to go scotch free. I am just to inform you that government is doing something about it and you can see me with the Ministries of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and Women Affairs Development, Pauline Tallen.
“From now onward, national partnership with every stakeholder is what we are going into now and not only within the country but within the sub-region. We have to partner with organizations that are involved in this. We know we have been working seriously with UNODC (
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) and other civil society organizations. So just to tell you that government is doing something seriously to curtail this type of offense”.
