A former Senator and ex-aide to Goodluck Jonathan has suggested a more sringent method to curb the activities of rapists in Nigeria.
The best way to end rape and sexual assault in the country is by ensuring convicted rapists get capital punishment which does not entail killing them but cutting off their genitals. This is the suggestion of Senator Florence Ita-Giwa.
Ita-Giwa gave this suggestion while speaking as a special guest at ‘Magnenta and Black Art & Fashion for Charity’, a fund raising exhibition for Mirabel Centre, held at the British Council, Lagos by a group under the aegis of Friends of Mirabel.
The women leader who represented Cross River in the Senate and later served as Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters to former President Goodluck Jonathan, maintained that throwing child- rapists into prison is not enough justice but cutting off their genitals will ensure they do not use them on other children. Making reference to accounts of rape by two survivors at the event, the senator said:
“The lady said she was happy that she got justice for her four-year-old daughter who was raped by two men but, in my mind, if I were a judge and a man is brought to court for raping a child, he will receive capital punishment. But I will say, `don’t kill him, rather let him live his life in pain, let his organ be cut off’. He should not be allowed the pleasure of using that organ anymore. If the organ is not cut off, at the end of his term in prison, he will use it on other children. Fortunately for them, I’m no longer in the Senate but I will find a way to get it into the chamber. This is the proper way to end the evil of rape in the society”.
While commending Mirabel Centre for its commitment towards rehabilitating survivors of sexual assault and rape, she pledged support to the Centre and called on all to join in the fight against rape and sexual assault.
Also speaking, the Managing Partner at Partnership for Justice and Founder Mirabel Centre, Mrs Itoro Eze-Anaba, said that the situation had reached a stage that girls are no longer safe in their homes since fathers and uncles rape them.
“Rape is not a girls’ or women’s issue, it is a community issue because boys are also being raped daily. The implication is that if we do not end it, the abused may end up as an abuser and a time will come when the society will be filled with abusers,” Eze-Anaba said.
She called on public spirited individuals and organizations to support Mirabel Centre to continue with the good work of protecting children.
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