The Ogun State government has disclosed that the state records no fewer than 15 rape cases and other sexually-related offences on weekly basis.
The Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Justice, Adesola Shobayo, made the disclosure on Friday while speaking with journalists in her office in Abeokuta.
She said the rate at which abuse of minors and other related offences were fast increasing in the state was worrisome, noting that the best way to check the problem was to review the criminal law by fast-tracking the legal process and imposing stiffer sanctions in order to punish culprits.
“We now record no fewer than 15 cases of rape in a week. My own attitude to these problems is to review our criminal law as it affects defilement and other sexual offences.
“I don’t know why rape cases are so common these days. It is fast becoming a big problem in the state,” she said.
Shobayo, however, urged government at all levels to come up with stiffer punishments.
Speaking further on the protection of children’s rights in the state, the permanent secretary revealed that the ‘Amended Child Rights Law’ was already being implemented in the state.
According to her, the present administration in the state was doing all within its capacity to promote and preserve the rights of children between the ages of one and 18 years.
She said, “The government of the state detest any action tending to infringe on the rights and privileges of children.
“Also, government will not condone any form of violation against them and would not hesitate to punish anyone found culpable,” the permanent secretary stressed.
She further affirmed that the ministry of justice also provides legal support to indigent people in the society through the Citizens Right Department, CRD, by defending them in civil and criminal cases.
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