Nigerians can report rape committed 50 years ago –NAPTIP

Meanwhile, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other related offences has called on rape victims not to be afraid of stigmatisation but to report to the agency, even if the crime was committed 50 years ago.

The NAPTIP Director-General, Julie Okah-Donli, stated this in Abuja during an interview with one of our correspondents, adding that rape might sometimes degenerate to murder when the victims refused to speak up.

Okah-Donli added that the government was making efforts such as securing more convictions of rape suspects and updating the Sex Offenders Register to ensure that sexual and domestic abuses abated.

According to the register, there are 11 convicted persons, 18 incidents reported and 21 verified reported cases.

Okah-Donli said, “Unfortunately, rape cases are deteriorating into rape-and-kill. We probably heard of this (Uwalia’s case) perhaps because the victim was killed. This is why I always plead with rape victims to always report. If you are raped, please report, because next time, you may not be lucky, they may kill you. And that is exactly what is happening.

“A lot of rape victims still don’t report cases; they feel stigmatised. But Nigeria has gone beyond that stage now – we deal decisively with rape suspects. There is no statute of limitation for rape. If you are raped, even 50 years ago, please report. We will make sure you get justice.”

Source: Punch