Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has advocated severe punishment for rapists as a way to combat the rising cases of rape and sexual violence in Nigeria.
Mr Gbajabiamila said the harsh punishment might involve “chopping off the genitals” of convicted rapists.
Speaking at the National Assembly on Wednesday when he received a delegation from the Movement Against Rape and Sexual Violence (MARS-V), the speaker said leaders and citizens need to stand up against rape.
Mr Gbajabiamila, who described the country ‘s rising rape as a pandemic, said the society, including the media, has a role to play in combating the pandemic.
He said the statistics on rape cases in Nigeria “is mind-boggling.”
He said Nigerians, especially those that hold religious views on rape, need adequate education and awareness against the rape pandemic.
“The statistics are very alarming on the issue of rape. You hear figures in terms of rape and gender-based violence that are mind-boggling. It’s only a deprived mind that can engage in rape. I consider the issue of rape as a pandemic. In my estimation, it’s a pandemic.
“The issue of rape should be treated the way corona (virus) is treated. How do we treat a pandemic? There has to be a frontal onslaught. The media has a role to play. It should be in the front line. There’s a lot of work to be done from different angles.
“In a pandemic, you look for cure. No sane man would have sexual intercourse with a 3-month old baby. The idea alone is sickening,” Mr Gbajabiamila said.
He urged men to show solidarity with women in the fight against the scourge.
“Whilst I see so many women here with you, this is a fight not just for women. I can see some few men too, but this is a fight for all. Let a subliminal message be sent that even though over 95 per cent of the victims are women, let it be that it’s we, the men, that are championing your course.”
The speaker also said the rape-related Nigerian laws are lax, so they would not dissuade people from getting involved in the crime.
Mr Gbajabiamila also said that he believed that many cases of rape are not reported because the victims feel ashamed to speak out.
He urged the movement to make a presentation in that regard to see what can be done as financial support in the 2021 budget to be presented to the National Assembly in September.
Earlier, Aisha-Ummi El-Rufai, a wife of Kaduna State Governor, drew the speaker ‘s attention to the country’s growing cases of rape, saying it was becoming troubling and that immediate steps needed to be taken.
She said that the new phenomenon is one where “our women are raped to death and butchered even in churches and mosques where God is worshipped.”
Their main reason for visiting the speaker, she said, was “to seek his help, ask questions, seek justice and challenge the status quo”.
She noted that statistics had shown that “717 reported rape cases and 7,170 unreported ones occurred in Nigeria within five months”.
She said while over 7,000 lives have been brutalised, with some destroyed and others terminated, “perpetrators of such heinous acts are not brought to justice even as the laws appear to the lenient”.
