717 rape cases have been recorded from January to May 2020

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu has said that 717 rape incidents have been reported to the police across the country from January-May this year alone.

The IGP made this revelation while speaking with state house correspondents after himself, the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, and the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, met with President Buhari this morning over the increasing incidence of rape cases.

The police chief said 799 suspects have been arrested so far, 631 cases conclusively investigated and charged to court, and 52 cases are left and under investigation. He added that the COVID19 restriction is responsible for the spike in the number of rape cases.

”We are here to brief you on sexual and gender-based violence and the action that the government has been taking, particularly the Nigeria Police. It has come to the public knowledge now that because of the COVID-19 restrictions, we have a surge in cases of rape and gender-based violence. These are cases that are now coming up but we want to let members of the public know that, rape and gender-based violence have been there.

The law enforcement agents have been dealing with these cases, in most cases, members of the public are not aware of the actions that the law enforcement agents have been taking.

The Nigeria police so far from January-May 2020, we have recorded about 717 rape incidents that were reported across the country, about 799 suspects have been arrested, 631 cases conclusively investigated and charged to court and 52 cases are left and under investigation.” he said

He called on rape victims to always ensure they report the matter to the police. According to him, remaining silent gives a perpetrator another opportunity to prey on his next victim

“It is a very wicked offense, it is very serious offense, it is very wicked of an individual to engage in rape or defilement. And there are a lot of causes, some are doing it for ritual purposes, some are doing it because they are within the family and they see the victims and have the urge to go into it and do it. But such people should not be allowed to go scotch free.

I am just to inform you that the government is doing something about it and you can see me with the ministries of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and Women Affairs Development, Pauline Tallen.

From now onward, national partnership with every stakeholder is what we are going into now and not only within the country but within the subregion.

We have to partner with organizations that are involved in this. We know we have been working seriously with UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) and other civil society organizations. So just to tell you that government is doing something seriously to curtailed this type of offense”’he said