Legal luminary, Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN), has advocated a proactive and stringent punishment enforcement to curb the rising cases of sexual abuse of minors in Nigeria.
Apart from the punishment provided in the statute books for convicted offenders, Ali also advised that convicts should be made to undergo compulsory psychiatric rehabilitation saying: “anyone will full sanity will not likely defile a child moreover his own child.”
He spoke at the Annual Law Week of the Ekiti State Chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) held over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital which has as its theme “The Roles of Stakeholders in the 21st Century Childcare.”
Ali, who was a guest speaker at the event delivered a lecture titled: “Defilement of Children: Roles of Parents, Guardians and Society.” The Ekiti FIDA Law Week was declared open by the state Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola who was represented by Justice Toyin Abodunde.
The event was attended by Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Feyisetan Fayose represented by a Permanent Secretary in the state civil service, Mrs. Peju Babafemi; Justice Cornelius Akintayo, Justice Emmanuel Adesodun, Justice Dele Omotoso, former General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Obafemi Adewale; former Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Owoseni Ajayi; Ado-Ekiti NBA Chairman, Mr. Gbemiga Adaramola and other members of the Bar.
The week-long event also featured goodwill messages, cultural variety night, food competition between NBA and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), award night and dinner, ladies day out at Ikogosi Warm Spring and thanksgiving service.
Ali said the scourge of the abuse of minors should be fought on all fronts by all relevant stakeholders to save the life and future of the younger generation. The stakeholders, according to him, include parents, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and the media.
The learned silk expressed concern that if nothing urgent is done to tackle the menace of child defilement, the society is in a precarious state and the consequences will be too difficult to handle.
He said: “There should be a proactive and stringent punishment enforcement for these child defilers. Even though the offence of child defilement is in itself punishable with life imprisonment, other offences such as indecent assault, sodomy etc carry lesser punishment.
“It is not just expedient to ensure maximum punishment, it is also imperative to enforce this punishment in a very firm and decisive manner. The police authorities should courageously investigate and recommend for prosecution the alleged offenders.
“The judiciary should not shy away from handing out maximum punishment, when the occasion demands, to sex offenders. This will serve as a deterrent to other aberrant members of the public. Judges should dispense justice without interference from the other arms of government and efforts should be made to ensure that cases are resolved quickly.
“An ineffective judiciary will promote child abuse despite the enactments of several laws prohibiting it. The use of juvenile courts should be revived especially to try offenders. It is strongly suggested that apart from the punishments provided in the laws, the convicted offenders must be made to undergo compulsory psychiatric rehabilitation.
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