Both Abia and Ondo states have been in the news for the wrong reasons recently. In Abia State, at the Methodist Girls Model Secondary School, Ovim, no less than 15 female students were raped when unknown men invaded the school at 2.00 am. The men were alleged to have separated the girls into two categories of virgins and non-virgins before raping them in turn. In Ondo town, Ondo State, five men allegedly raped two girls and, not done, they threatened to post their nude pictures on the social media. The five suspects have since been identified and arrested.
If the frequency of rape cases has robbed them of the expected outrage and indignation, it is probably as a result of society’s indulgent disposition and lax security. For instance, in the case of the gang rape in Ondo, the police alleged that certain influential citizens have been mounting pressure on it to release the arrested suspects. In Abia State where the rapists were audacious enough to separate their victims into categories, it is not known what security was in place in the school to protect the vulnerable girls. And when a government official was prodded by reporters on the issue, all he could offer was a terse response concerning his “working on it.” Whether the Methodist Girls Model Secondary School, Ovim, is a missionary, private or public school, the government still owed it a duty to secure and prevent the attack on those girls who, quite sadly, were victims of the lustful rampage of criminals who ravaged and traumatised them.
It is however quite encouraging that the police in Ondo State have not allowed themselves to be persuaded by the feisty and unscrupulous influential members of the society against their statutory duties. The traditionalists in the town have also responded well by repudiating the behaviour of the rapists with traditional sanctions. The frequency of various sex offences in the society has reached such a bothersome peak that parents and guardians of minors have now to be more than vigilant to keep felons at bay. But more than anything, the government must put a stop to the menace by punishing the perpetrators maximally. Rape ruptures the psyche of its victims, and they invariably suffer from stigmatisation.
But when these rapes are not treated with the seriousness that they deserve, as in the Abia case, they escalate. It simply beggars belief that unknown men can saunter into a secondary school’s boarding facilities and rape not less than 15 students unchallenged after sorting them into virgins and non-virgins! These audacious rapists were certainly not in a hurry to escape and their temerity is totally repugnant. Is it still safe to send the girl-child to a school where her safety is compromised almost deliberately by the government?
The Abia State government must investigate the rape incident in the school diligently with the intention of prosecuting the rapists. We believe that the police should be able to expose the criminals. It is an insult to the corporate essence of Nigeria that such abominable characters are allowed to roam and prowl freely. If it is truly believed that rape is a crime which endangers the liberty of the victims, then the security agencies must treat cases of rape with the seriousness they deserve. The slap on the wrist and shoddy prosecutions must stop. It is because offenders have been getting away with light sanctions that these crimes have persisted.
In a recent press release, the Nigeria Police Force said that it was ready to ensure that the rule of law was enforced in every case under investigation and the culprits brought to book. We hope that it will walk the talk in these cases of rape.
