Rape and sexual abuse cases are alarmingly on the rise in Nigeria. Hardly a day passes without the news of one 30-something years old uncle defiling his 12 years old niece, some young dude below 30 having forceful anal/vaginal sex with a 16 year old girl he lured to his house under the pretext of securing a job for her or even more insane cases of fully grown men raping months old babies. All of these forces one to wonder why these heinous crimes are still being perpetrated with such impunity. Is it that the punishment for rape and sexual abuse in Nigeria is not weighty enough to deter such acts?
Rapists, those few that were arrested to face the law, often get away with as little as 7 years imprisonment in Nigeria after leaving their victim in a traumatic state that could last all days of their lives. The painful experience of rape doesn’t always end when the rapist pulls out of the victim, it sticks and becomes a chronic disease that often takes the lives of the victim.
While some rape victims are lucky enough to bounce back to their old self through the support of their family and the counsel of a good therapist, some others become so weakened emotionally after going through this ordeal that they start taking drugs or alcohol to escape the constant wave of depression that meets their every waking moment. Some even going as far as taking their own lives—that is if the STDS they may have contracted from the rapist doesn’t do the job first.
And now, when a rape victim braves the societal stigma and possibility of being disbelieved to report this crime and bring her rapist to justice, the criminal is not charged with a befitting punishment that will act as a deterrent to others. Something needs to be done about that.
True, no amount of punishment will ever be enough for violating someone’s life but meting out a sentence that closely mirrors the gravity of the crime is better than continuing with one that seems patronizing.
It is only in worst cases of rape like the forceful double penetration of the 16-year-old girl that the rapist is given a hard sentence. Ediong Udoh, the 25-year-old rapist was sentenced to life imprisonment. This kind of sentence sends the message that there is zero-tolerance for this type of sexual defilement. But is it enough to stop prospective rapists in their tracks? There’s a strong fear that will grab you and make you think twice about having sex with someone without their consent when you know doing that could cost you your life.
Unfortunately, not all rape cases are treated in that deservingly extreme manner. Lawal Kamoru, a 22-year-old baker defiled a young girl of 14 years old and was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. Another was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for raping a virgin.
It is relieving to see the executive and judiciary system of Nigeria taking it upon themselves to see to it that a rapist pays for his crime but as rape and sexual abuse cases are not showing any signs of slowing down, there’s a need to review the punishment doled out to perpetrators of rape and sexual abuse in Nigeria. The decade-long imprisonment rapists are often charged with doesn’t seem to be enough.
