Worried by the rate of rape cases in Lagos State, a lawmaker in the State, Gbolahan Yishawu has defended his bill on rape, which is currently before the State House of Assembly.
The lawmaker maintained that the right of fatherhood would be taken away from the offender as a way of punitive measure.
Gbolahan Yishawu, who sponsored the bill titled; “A Bill For A Law To Provide Shield For Rape Victims, Create Civil Liabilities For Sexual Offenders And Prevent Harassment In Lagos State And For Other Connected Purposes,” stated that the bill addresses areas that were missing in the existing law on rape.
The lawmaker, who is representing Eti-Osa Constituency II, explained during plenary as the bill went through second reading that it is meant to improve on the prosecution of rape offenders in the state.
He said that many rape offenders in the state were not prosecuted and that the bill, when it becomes law, would discourage rape and improve prosecution.
“It is also meant to shield victims of rape such that his or her name would not be revealed during prosecution. It would encourage people to report rape cases probably to the Office of Public Defenders (OPD) as many rape cases go unreported.
“The bill also seeks to create civil liabilities for the victims such that he or she would be compensated by the offender and the right of fatherhood would be taken away from the offender,” he said.
According to him, the bill would also protect the residents of the state against custodian rape and further protect the people against rape of all forms.
However, Adefunmilayo Tejuoso from Mushin Constituency I said that the bill could not be addressing civil liabilities, when it is dealing with a criminal matter.
Tejuoso added that the Lagos State Government was already addressing the issue of rape and that there are dedicated phone numbers, which rape victims could call anytime there is a rape case, while revealing that she is fully involved in the campaign against rape in the state.
“The state criminal law deals with the first section of the Bill and some sections of the Bill are the same with the existing criminal law in the state. Every single aspect of rape is explained in the law. We can also remove the civil aspect in the bill,” she said.
Tejuoso said further that there was no way compensation could address a situation where someone is infected with a sexually transmitted disease during rape.
She added that the state government has put a lot of things in place to address rape issues and that there are family courts created for such purposes in the state.
Abiodun Tobun from Epe Constituency I said that once there is consent there is no rape, adding that if the victim contracts a sexually transmitted disease, the offender should be sentenced to death.
Also contributing, Victor Akande said that the bill would lead to double jeopardy for the offender as he or she would be jailed and still made to compensate the victim, saying that this is not acceptable in law.
But the Deputy Speaker of the House, Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun said that it is only the society that benefits, when a rape offender is convicted, while the victim gains nothing.
He then submitted that the state would be missing a lot if the bill were jettisoned, and that the bill makes it compulsory that rape victims would be compensated as against what currently exists.
Also, the Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade revealed that criminal laws are shifting from benefits to the society to the victims of the actions.
He stressed that the state wants to punish rape offenders, while neglecting the victims of rape, which he said the bill addresses.
He said: “The Bill was first presented during the 7th Assembly and I opposed it then, but I have now changed my mind on the issue. The sponsor of the Bill has conviction and passion for the Bill.
“Compensation for the victim is not specified on the existing law on rape. Rape cases are not the same because values and circumstances are different. We have fathers that are raping their daughters and uncles that are raping their nieces.”
Agunbiade advised that the Bill should be stepped down so that members could go and do more researches on it rather than outright rejection of the Bill.
This was supported by the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, who ordered that the Bill should be stepped down and allotted for another day so that members of the House could look at it critically with a view of addressing its grey areas.