From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Apart from the steps taken by the administration of Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State to stem sex- related abuses by signing the amendment to the state’s penal code law in September 2021, which provides stiffer punishment for rapists convicted, by removing their testicles and fallopian tubes of men and women respectively, the state has also launched what it called a sex offenders’ register.
The idea behind the register is to name, document and shame all sex offenders to serve as deterrent to would be perpetrators.
The amended penal code provides that men convicted of raping children under age of 14 will have their testicles surgically removed, while women will have their fallopian tubes cut out.
The objective of the law according to the state government, “is to deter likely offenders and not to incapacitate anyone. No one enjoys the surgical procedures in the edict for convicted persons. But this is a crime against humanity that we must end.”
The deputy governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, who launched the digital register recently at the ministry of justice, said that the administration was giving formal notice to all sex offenders that Kaduna State is a no-go area for them.
Balarabe noted that the state government launched the sex offenders’ register in its effort to protect citizens from various sexual abuses and violations as well as strengthen the law against rape.
According to the deputy governor, “the idea of the register is to name, document and shame offenders so that others will be unwillingly to engage in the act.
“Sex offences are crimes that go beyond defiling the physical body but include all crimes that exploit others for sexual purposes of any sort whether in person or on line.
“The worst part of these abuses is the psychological impact on the victim. Many never live to recover. Many more are haunted for the rest of their lives.
“Sex abuse victims include men and boys. But we often lay emphasis on women and the girl-child because one of the most devastating and wide spread human rights violations known in the world is violence against women and children with most of it being sexual abuse.”
She further noted that many sex abuses are not reported because of the social stigma that is being associated with it, adding: “We are also aware that many people are suffering and it is even a source of many deaths.
“As a government, it is our responsibility to protect all citizens, especially because the reports we receive of rape and sodomy against young boys and girls are on the increase.”
The deputy governor lamented the irony that “while many victims of sexual offences who are able to speak out continue to be stigmatized, the identities of their abusers even after conviction are scarcely reported or known.
“The sex offenders’ register intends to expose the identities of such abusers. The register and database will contain the full details of the offenders, including their photographs and home addresses.
“The data will also be linked to the national sex offenders’ database and will be updated regularly.”
Balarabe hopes that the database will assist companies and schools with records of prospective employees, to ensure that sex offenders are not placed where they will perpetrate their criminal acts.
According to her, the new law provides that men convicted of raping children under age 14 will have their testicles surgically removed, while women will have their fallopian tubes cut out.
The deputy governor said that the objective of the law is “to deter likely offenders and not to incapacitate anyone. No one enjoys the surgical procedures in the edict for convicted persons. But this is a crime against humanity that we must end.”
For the state commissioner of human services and social development, Hajiya Hafsat Mohammed Baba, the idea of having a sex offenders’ register started last year, after a meeting with all states of the federation that have sexual assault referral centres in Abuja.
Hajiaya Hafsat, who narrated how the idea was mooted, spoke during the launching of the sex offenders’ register.
The commissioner said that although Kaduna State had four sexual assault referral centres and a mobile one, it had no database on sex offenders or a sex offenders’ register, adding that the ministry decided to look for a partner for the project.
“l reached out to Dr Amina Salihu, who is the founder of Hadis Foundation, who agreed to partner with Kaduna State Government, and we set out to work on the project.
“We met with officials of relevant MDAs, including Ministry of Justice, security agencies and officials of the Nigerian Correctional Centre, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are working on gender based violence and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP),” she said.
According to Hajiya Hafsat, the ministry and Hadis Foundation started training relevant stakeholders like social workers, officers of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the police and officials of the correctional centre for the project.
The commissioner, who said that she is delighted that the sex offenders register has been launched, expressed optimism that the incidence of rape, sexual assault and gender-based violence will reduce.
Investigation by Daily Sun revealed that before the law was enacted, Kaduna recorded 485 rape cases between January and May 2020.
The commissioner had noted that during the said period the 485 rape cases were recorded at the sexual abuse referral centre in the state.
She had on a radio programme informed that the figure excluded the cases that were recorded by security agencies in the state.
The commissioner said Nasir el-Rufai, worried by the ugly development, had asked that all rape cases recorded since 2015 be submitted to him.
“It is not only girls that are being raped, even boys are not spared. If I tell you the number of rape cases we recorded five months (January-May 2020) ago, you woul be surprised,” she said.
“This number is only from our sexual abuse referral centre. From January to May, we recorded 485 cases of rape.
“We must wake up, because everyday, from morning to evening, I receive one complain or the other. Honestly, we must work hard.
My concern is that most times, parents don’t monitor their children. Some parents don’t know their responsibilities.
“Sometimes even when the parents of a rape victim wants justice, they are frustrated when they are asked to provide this and that at the police station.
“A child is raped and they will ask the parents of the victim to be bringing food to the culprit who is in the cell. That is not fair,” she said.