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| Maimuna with her violated baby |
The month of May and June, 2020 will forever remain in the memories of Nigerians, who are prone to monitoring security issues and human rights violations.
The months witnessed the senseless killings and rape of some Nigerians, especially young folks.
However, it was escalating cases of rape that captured the attention of Nigerians and their indignation. There have been many cases of rape, which noticeably started in May, 2020, during lockdown caused by the COVID19 outbreak in Nigeria. The cases dovetailed into June 2020.
We’re however, looking at top 10 cases of rape that shocked us.
The first on our list is the defilement of three months old Rukkayat in Adogi village of Nasarawa State. The baby was defiled on May 27, by unknown person(s). The mom, Maimuna, said it happened at midnight.
She narrated: “I woke up at about 3am and found that my baby was missing. I checked my phone, which was also close to me before I slept, but discovered it was missing. I started screaming, causing people to wake. We organised search parties and found her in an uncompleted building, bleeding. Her pants had been removed and kept aside. There was blood on her private part. We rushed her to the hospital.”
The third rape case is that of Barakat Bello. Nigerians were still grappling with the shock of Uwa’s rape and murder, when news filtered out that 19-year-old Bello, a student of the Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training, Ibadan, on June 22, had been raped and murdered in Akinyele area of Ibadan. The deceased’s sister found her corpse behind their home. Further examination revealed that she was raped before being murdered.
The fourth rape case occurred on June 13, 2020. It was the rape and murder of Miss Grace Oshiagwu, a student of Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki. Oshiagwu was raped and murdered within a church mission building, located at Idi-Ori, Sasa-Ojoo, in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The victim, a secondary school pupil, was left bleeding from injuries she sustained in her private parts.
The sixth case on our list is the rape of 70-year-old landlady at Abule Lemode, Ijoko, Ogun State, who was raped by a 25-year-old truck driver, Wasiu Bankole. The victim explained that her assailant barged into her apartment and raped her. It was further gathered that Bankole, who resides in the community, was drunk when he barged into the woman’s house on June 2, at about 11pm. He overpowered the woman who was asleep and raped her. The victim narrated that Bankole covered her mouth.
The seventh incident on our watch list is the arrest of 11 men, who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl in Jigawa State, on different occasions. The suspects had sexually violated the victim on different occasions. They were arrested on May 31. The rape incidents were discovered when one of the suspects, 57-year-old man from Ma’ai village, Dutse LGA, lured the victim to Limawa Market in Dutse Local Government Area of the state. Someone sighted the suspect with the victim and raised the alarm. The child, upon being questioned, mentioned the names of the 11 men that had violated her.
Snagging the eighth position on our list is the rape and murder of Hauwau Iliyasu in Zamfara State on June, 15. The deceased was raped and murdered by her brother-in-law, Aminu Bala, 25. The Zamfara State Police Command spokesman, Mohammed Shehu, disclosed that Bala confessed to the rape and murder of the woman.
Bala was alleged to have butchered Hauwau after raping her. The victim’s distraught husband, Kabiru Bala, recalled that his brother had once threatened to kill Hauwau.
On the ninth position is the case of 40 women raped in Kano State. The victims included an 80-year-old woman. The serial rapist, Muhammad Zulfarau Alfa 32, confessed to have raped more than 40 women in a year, including girls and married women. The Kano State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abdullahi Haruna, said nemesis caught up with the suspect after he went into a house in the night and attempted to rape a married woman.
Haruna said: “The suspect was arrested in Kwanar Dangora, an outskirt of Kano. He confessed to have raped more than 40 women in a year, including girls, married women as well as an 80-year-old. The man raped women and girls in the Dongora town and confessed to have committed the crime alone.”
The 10th case is the alleged and controversial rape of a 19-year-old girl in Warri, Delta State on May 20, by the Founder/General Overseer of Victory Revival Fasting and Prayer Ministry, Bishop Elijah Orhonigbe. The GO was alleged to have drugged and rape the victim under the guise of deliverance. But the Bishop denied the allegation.
The spike in rape cases pushed human rights activists to embark on protests and meetings, calling on the government and police to take deliberate steps against perpetrators. They also want rapists and killers in the aforementioned cases to be arrested and made to face justice.
Religious leaders are also speaking out against the spike in rape cases. Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, speaking on the rape and murder of Uwa, said: “Myself and prayer warriors will not rest in prayers until the perpetrators of this evil are brought to justice, not only in Nigeria but all over the world. Everyone who has ever committed rape, particularly in Nigeria, and the world, the all-knowing God will fish them out. As much as I hate death sentences, I think every form of punishment that will be given to a rapist cannot be considered too severe.”
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, while disclosing that the Force has in the first five months of the year, recorded about 717 rape incidents reported across the country, said that about 799 suspects had been arrested. He also mentioned that 631 cases were conclusively investigated and charged to court while 52 cases are left and under investigation.
According to the IGP: “It has come to the public knowledge now that because of the COVID-19 restrictions, we have 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 has 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 police and other security agencies and other non-governmental organisations have been collaborating, to see to it that these cases of rape and gender based violence are dealt with. I will call on every Nigerian that has or comes across any victim of sexual offenses or rape or gender based violence, to quickly report to law enforcement agents. Because, keeping it without reporting it will give room for the perpetrators to continue to commit the offenses.
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 Scot-free.”
The governors of the 36 states of the federation have also declared a state of emergency on gender-based and sexual forms of violence.
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