Experts call for speedy trial of rape cases

LR: Ogun NSCDC PRO, Kareem Olanrewaju, Ogun Police representative and lecturer, Department of General Studies, MAPOLY, Odubela Ajimola during the campaign…

• Say cases should not be settled out of court

Ifedayo Ogunyemi and Ahmad Obanoyen

In a bid to strengthen deterrence, experts in various fields have called for the speedy trial of rape cases.

The experts in the field of law, health, security and academics also said that rape cases are criminal matters and should not be settled out of court as applicable in some cases in the country.

These experts who spoke at a campaign, Students Against Rape held at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic also said government and everyone involved in attending to rape cases, victims and perpetrators need to do more to strengthen deterrence of the act.

A Consultant Psychiatrist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta, Adegboyega Ogunwale said many rape cases in the country have not been successfully prosecuted. He also said rape is a crime against the state and not against the family of the victim.

“I will agree with you that with any law, non-compliance does not strengthen deterrence. It actually weakens it to the extent that we haven’t had too many rape cases being successfully prosecuted.

“It will appear that many perpetrators would not be detained. The onus is on government to ensure that there is proper education and they should make people realise that rape is a crime against the state and not the family, so it cannot be settled out of court as if it were a civil matter.

“It is a criminal matter in which the state is the party against the perpetrator. Once people have that understanding and are educated to that level, maybe there will be more diligent prosecution.

“Diligent prosecution will lessen stigmatisation on the part of the victim and will discourage the perpetrators that are undertaking such nefarious act,” Ogunwale who is also the Vice-chairman, Mental Health Committee of the Nigerian Medical Association, Ogun State branch said.

A former Chairman, Law Officcers’ Association, Ogun State branch, Adedamola Lapite said, the process of trial can be shortened. He said such cases should be tried and completed within two days and a month after the event has been reported.

He said calling the victims to recount experiences after two or three years causes psychological trauma in brain and mind of such victims.

“The process can be shortened, there’s nothing that says when someone is arrested, you take the person to the hospital for treatment.

“In the space of two days, you can go to court and present the case rather than waiting endlessly. You don’t have to wait endlessly before you come for trial say two years or three years later. Once, the reporting is done, in a month the whole thing (trial) should be done.

“Specialists need trainings. Not only them, everyone involved in attending to rape victims including police, doctors. We are still far away from the trend in advanced countries.

“The accused get kingly treatment while the victims are treated as trash with the believe that ‘they must have caused it’. We must leave this level of ‘they must have caused it’ and say that the perpetrator must have been insane no matter what.

“Because I begin to wonder what a rapist has seen in a five-year old or 5-month old child. A 3-year old child was raped in Abeokuta some years ago. She died at UCH Ibadan after about five different operations. But what they will ask is ‘what we’re you wearing?’

“Not all of the security agents are trained to attend to rape victims. And in the process the victims shut down and since their systems deny those events, they may start giving information that do not corroborate,” Lapite added.

Public Relations Officer of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ogun State Command, Kareem Olanrenwaju and representatives of Nigeria Police urged the public to contribute to the speedy trial of rape cases by providing evidences when called upon.