The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed a motion to investigate the increase in rape and sexual assault across the country.
Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, introduced he motion titled “Urgent need to investigate the alarming rate of Rape and Sexual Assault against Women, Children and Vulnerable people across the country”.
In his lead debate, Na’Allah called for urgent attention to the “frightening increase in cases of sexual violence, notably rape where more than half of the victims are minors below the age of consent.”
He noted that in most cases, the perpetrators are individuals familiar to the victims and include neighbours, employers and family members, adding that the motion is meant to express Senate’s concern that the activities of certain sexual predators represent a serious security threat to vulnerable segments of society.
The senator representing Kebbi South stated that rape and sexual assault figures reveal that these crimes ignore gender as both males and females are victims.
“What is worse, many perpetrators are never brought to justice due to poor rates of prosecution and convictions,” he added.
Senate President Bukola Saraki lauded Na’Allah for introducing the motion on increase in rape and sexual assault in the country and for rallying his colleagues behind the effort to raise the alarm on the subject.
“The distinguished majority leader has once again shown that he is a leader of compassion who believes in the rule of law. The crimes of rape and sexual assault that afflict today’s Nigeria cannot be tolerated and demand increased attention from law enforcement and civil society,” Saraki said.
The senate in its resolutions urged the inspector general of police to investigate and prosecute violent sexual abuse to the fullest extent of the law and mandated the relevant senate committees to exercise their legislative and oversight function to seek solutions that would drastically reduce the incidents of rape and sexual assault.
It further urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and other security agencies to establish functional help desks to provide increased support for victims.
