National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has demanded the publication of names of convicted rapists in the rape offenders register in addition to other stiffer penalties to serve as a deterrent.
This was disclosed by the Director General of NAPTIP, Hajiya Binta Bello, in Calabar during a close-out event of the implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law in Cross River, organised by Stand to End Rape.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project which was funded by African Women Development Fund (AWDF) had seen Stand to End Rape visit Cross River twice earlier to sensitise and train stakeholders on ending rape.
Represented by Mr Jacob Oba, Head of Operations, NAPTIP, Cross River Command, Bello said rape was one of the heinous crimes against humanity and all efforts should be directed by stakeholders to bring an end to it.
She said this could be done by bringing perpetrators to Justice, timely reporting of cases, offering needed assistance to survivors, helping survivors access legal services and discouraging stigmatisation through awareness campaigns.
“I appeal to everyone to join hands to wage war against rape; NAPTIP as an agency of government will do everything within its mandate to fight violators of the VAPP Act including trafficking in persons,” she said.
Similarly, Dr Mercy Kwabe, Co-director of Stand to End Rape Initiative said although human rights were stifled at different levels in the nation, adopting the VAPP Act showed that Nigeria was willing to push for equal rights of its citizens, especially women and girls.
Kwabe stated that one of the things they noticed in their work across states was that a lot of people did not understand the VAPP Law because of the language, so they had to prioritise interpreting the laws in different languages.
According to her, “Nigeria has an implementation problem that is why they have taken up the responsibility to carry out the initiative of sensitisation across Nigeria.
“So, the talk of repealing the VAPP Act, as we hear in some quarters, should not be heard of; what we should be talking about now is amending the act to make it better and accommodate stiffer punishment for perpetrators,” Kwabe said.
On her part, Ms Ann Awa, Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Cross River Chapter, said Nigeria needs the full implementation of the VAPP Act in the states.
She added that if there were sections many of us did not agree with, they could be fine-tuned and not throw the entire law that was just started a few years ago away.
NAN also reports that Stand to End Rape Initiative also carried out a sensitisation engagement at Ikot Awatim community where the people were enlightened on the VAPP Act, which was domesticated in Cross River in 2021 while charging them to report suspected cases. (NAN)