Oyo State Police Commissioner, CP Chucks Enwonwu has hinted that delay in prosecution of rape offenses was occasioned by failure of government agencies saddled with forensic examination to speed up the exercise.
This was disclosed when the Oyo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Alhaja Faosat Sanni paid him a visit and commended the efforts and supports of the security agencies in fighting the high rates of rape, incessant abuse and killing in the State.
Alhaja Faosat Sanni made the commendation on Tuesday when she led the state Rapid Response Rescue Team on Sexual, Gender Based Violence and Child Abuse on a courtesy visits to the offices of the State Commissioner of Police, State headquarters, Eleyele and the Commandant of Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corp, Oyo State Command, Agodi Ibadan.
While welcoming the Commissioner of Police, CP Chucks Enwonwu to the State formally, Alhaja Sanni who appreciated the existing working relationship between the Ministry and the agency, noted that perpetrators who were mostly male most times overpowered the survivors, thereby taking advantage of the victims to commit the evil act, mostly on women and children, who she said were most vulnerable in the society.
Sanni solicit more supports, mutual relationship and cooperations of the security agencies at large as well as an upscaled measure against rape cases and killing.
In their separate remarks at their offices, the Oyo state Commissioner of Police, Chuks Enwonwu, reassured their unflinching supports to the ministry and the State at large.
He said, “I am barely 29 days in office, I resumed on the 1st of June, 2020 and ever since I assumed office, I have been receiving government, public, private individuals including the traditional institutions, and I had also done familiarization tours to other security and government agencies and other relevant stakeholders on cases of rape.”
“Our officers are doing their best to fight undesirable elements in the society who are into act of violence to the weaker sex, women, battering, defiling the underage, raping women and adding murder to it.”
CP Enwonwu made it abundantly clear that he would continue to fight the heinous crime and anyone found guilty must face the full wrath of the law as nobody is above the law of the land.
He said part of the challenges to get apprehend and prosecute perpetrators was that people did not want to give information that would help in their investigations.
“Each place I visited, we keep advocating for partnership especially in giving the Police intelligence to help us fight the crime generally, also ignorance in the rural areas is rife to the extent that when sexual offences happened, they try to conceal and settle the matter because of social stigmatization, they should rather go to court and not succumb to family pressure for settlement.”
Also, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, DCP Abayomi Oladipo thanked the ministry for providing shelter and psychological stability for survivors while prosecuting offenders equally charged the appropriate authorities to always speed up actions on result of forensic examinations so as to fast track cases.
Similarly, the Oyo State Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Iskilu Akinsanya said the command has been empowered to prosecute offenders accordingly and that the Command as mandated by Ministry of Defence would establish Gender Based Unit to oversee related issues.
He said the command would not relent in meeting its desired objectives on prosecuting offenders accordingly and would not jeopardize the mutual trust and respect accorded the command.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs Christiana Abioye lauded the efforts of the security agencies as well as their synergies and collaborations with the ministry and state government at large said their efforts has helped in fighting crime and criminality of all forms.
Mrs Abioye also appealed that rape, sexual, gender based violence, child abuse and other human molestation cases should always be referred to the Ministry as the concerned body in charge.
Also lending her voice, the Oyo State Chairperson of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists who is a member of the team appealed that rape survivors should be treated with respect and that officers should not queried the survivors on their mode of dressing when the incidents happened but rather perform their duty accordingly.
