Following the rise in rape cases across most parts of Nigeria, some activists have asked the Ondo State Government to consider castration and life imprisonment as punishment for sexual offenders in the state.
Mr Ayafe Adeyemi, a human rights activist, said he was pushed to call for attention of the state government following the case of a pastor, who was dragged before an Ondo State Magistrate Court for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl but was released on bail.
He said, “So, you can imagine such a case and despite the Attorney General confirming that a medical report confirmed that the unscrupulous clergyman committed the said offence, he was granted bail.
“We still have people of such character walking on our streets without being tamed. I began to ask myself who is the next victim? And is the more reason the government needed to take prompt action.
“Let them enact laws that will serve as capital punishment for this offenders. They can be castrated, at least we have sensitized the people and parents on the need to also protect their children mostly the female folks.”
Oluwabukunmi Ayodele, an activist and psychologist, emphasised the need to digitalise the security system of the country with data in order to easily track rapists in the society.
She said, “So, if the DNA of a rapist is found in a victim, how then do the security agency apprehend the culprit or cohorts if it is not in any database.
“This is why we want this government to totally declare war on rapists by ensuring there are laws that would make anyone trying to indulge in such an act to have a change of mind.”
Another activist, Aduragbemi Adegite, decried the spate of rape in recent times in the country, noting that many victims have always had stories to tell but were shy to do so due to stigmatisation.
She said, “Some narrow-minded people always blame ladies for the rape because of what we put on but that should not be a justification for raping someone.
“That is why so many girls are always ashamed to come forward and tell their stories because they know people will stigmatise them. That is why I want capital punishment like life imprisonment for rapists.”
A female activist and founder of Women and Children Right Advocacy of Nigeria in Ondo State, Olufunmi Williams, called on the state government to enact a law that would help stop criminal elements from engaging in rape.