By Omeiza Ajayi – Abuja

Peeved by the increasing cases of rape in the country, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has announced a collaborative effort with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, and the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, to bring perpetrators to book and halt the trend.

Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu Esq, said the Commission is more than ever determined to deal with cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence SGBV brought before it, by frequently engaging the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons NAPTIP and the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, for urgent prosecution of such cases.

Ojukwu stated this during a tripartite meeting between the Commission, the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, which took place at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

Also at the meeting was the Rule of Law Advisor, Office of the Vice President, Dr Fatima Waziri-Azi, who pledged to partner with the three organizations to train and improve their capacity to tame the scourge of SGBV and create awareness to prevent such cases.

According to Ojukwu, it has become necessary to work assiduously with relevant agencies in order to ensure that such cases are adequately prosecuted and not swept under the carpet.

He lamented that recent reports received by the Commission, including those in the print and electronic media, reveal that SGBV cases especially rape have become a serious social malady which is taking an epidemic proportion. “This must be curtailed”, he stated.

The human rights chief however expressed dismay at how survivors of Rape/SGBV cases are usually stigmatized and humiliated by the public, including some law enforcement officials.

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“When such cases are reported, they ask suggestive contributory negligence questions like what was she wearing, what time of the night was she outside, what was she doing in a hotel room, what did she go out to do etc” he added.

According to the Executive Secretary, such questions discourage victims from reporting violations thereby making perpetrators get away with their crimes.

He added that in response to the national call for action as declared by the Federal Executive Council during its last meeting, the Commission will embark on one week of activism against Rape and SGBV across the 36 states from June 15-19, and it will be flagged off during a joint press conference by the NHRC, NPF and NAPTIP.

Meanwhile the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, pledged the commitment of the Nigeria Police to support all efforts geared towards curbing the alarming rate of Rape and SGBV in the country.

The IGP directed AIG Intelligence, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, to liase with the NHRC in monthly meetings on human rights violations with a view to ensuring accountability for human rights violations.

On her part, the Director General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah Donli, said NAPTIP as the custodian of the Violent Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act will work in synergy with the Police and NHRC to achieve excellent results by ensuring arrest, investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of the heinous act.

She pledged to work with the two organisations to ensure an updated sexual offence register to name and shame SGBV perpetrators.

The three partnering agencies of government agreed to hold joint monthly briefing on the status of prosecutions and data collated on SGBV cases across the country.

Vanguard News Nigeria.