Tunde Kolawole, a Lagos-based lawyer and notable Public Affairs Analyst writes on his experience handling rape cases and profers multi-faceted solutions as he unravels the complexities of the epidemic.
Sometimes in 2008, the Superscreen Television where I was an Emeritus Consultant, invited me to participate in a conversation on finding a solution to the problems of defilement and rape cases that was on the rise in Nigeria. Mr. Efe Atiyior; an international journalist who now plys his trade in South Africa, was the anchor of the programme that very day. At the time, the punishment for rape and defilement; i think, was imprisonment between seven and fifteen years. When the anchor asked me what I think should be the appropriate punishment for defilement and rape, I prescribed castration for the culprits. I remember that when I made this recommendation, there was a massive uproar on the set and in the studio; as most people who heard me, thought my recommendation was too harsh. This writer could therefore be said to be one of the very first persons to ever raise the punishment of castration for randy men.
Why did I make this recommendation? I made it because of a defining professional experience I had while handling a rape case. But do I still stand on this recommendation? The answer is no. And why is the answer no? I will explain in the course of this narrative. But first, the fact of the case. The father of the victim and the defendant were factory hands in one of the companies in Ikeja. The defendant had problems with his landlord over irregular payment of rent and the landlord took steps to recover his premises from him. The defendant sought the assistance of his friend to secure another premises and the friend obliged him by getting his own landlord to let to the defendant a room apartment in a so-called “face me and I face you” property where he lived when one became vacant. As soon as the defendant took possession of the premises, he started sleeping with his friend’s seven year old daughter.
The defendant would usually lure the little girl to his room by requesting her to buy for him items like bread; coke; pure water and what have you. On one of the occasions the defendant had carnal knowledge of the little girl, he over did it and the girl dislocated a hip and could therefore no longer walk properly. The mother of the victim noticed that her daughter was wobbling when walking and sought to know what was wrong with the victim. After severe pressure, the little girl confessed that “Uncle had been taking advantage of her.
The father of the victim subsequently proceeded to report the matter at the nearby police station in Agege and the defendant was arrested; investigated and prosecuted first at the magistrate court and later at the High Court because the prosecutor wanted to secure maximum sentence without paying attention to the limitation clause in law back then. When the victim was subjected to medical examination during investigation, it was discovered that the girl had not only dislocated a hip, but had also become infected with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It was Honourable Justice Oyewole (now in the Court of Appeal) that heard the case while he was at the Lagos State High Court. Even though judges are not expected to betray their emotions in a case before them, Honourable Justice Oyewole could hardly conceal his feelings on this very occasion judging from the way he would stare at the defendant each time he was in court; his refusal to hear the bail application and the deliberate delay in hearing the notice of preliminary objection when one was filed spoke volume. The Notice of Preliminary objection eventually succeeded and the defendant was discharged on technical grounds simply because the prosecutor was negligent. On the day the defendant was discharged, both the father and the mother of the victim wept openly in the court room and in fact, did not know the way to their Agege Residence again the very day. When we saw the scenario playing out around the court premises, our team quickly jumped into their cars and sped back to the office at neck braking speed.
After that case, the prosecutior would no longer talk to lawyers to the defendant and the defence counsels also started having nightmares over the case. The questions that agitated the minds of the defence counsels were: but this victim could have been my own daughter. Would one have wished that this sort of things happen to one’s daughter? As a result of this psychological trauma, a decision was taken to stay away from criminal cases. The prescription that castration should be the punishment for rape and defilement of babies came from this very nasty experience.
Some how, the lawyers have reviewed their position on appropriate punishments for heinous sexual crimes and are also back in the handling of rape and defilement cases. The reversal is equally a by product of experience. In the course of handling civil cases in court, one observed that about three broad categories of people were usually arraigned for rape and defilement. First, you had the rich and popular people that young ladies do swim around like bees to honey. The wannabees are attracted to success and want to partake in it.
And the rich people like musicians; athletes and upwardly mobile business men, also think having access to the bodies of these ladies is one of the by products and reward for their success. These category of people live bohemian life and always believe that if those ladies should refuse them they can rape these ladies without consequences and where there are consequences, then, their money can get them out of trouble. For this category of people, the law should ordinarily take its rightful course. But the question is, if the law takes its course is the society better served when such persons are castrated or sent to prison for life? The answer is certainly no because the society is poorer for it as the value such people add to the society will far outweigh the punishments dished out to them over an emotional infraction or lack of self-control.
The second category mostly caught in the web of rape and defilement are artisans; petty traders; farmers; commercial drivers; local pastors and islamic clerics who depend on charity for survival. These are indigent people who are living on the fringes of life. The live in slums and earn so little that when they have th urge for sex, they cannot afford little sums of money between one and five thousand Naira to engage the services of commercial sex workers and marry another lady of their choice and consequently result to having sex with their own daughters; neighbours daughters and little children under their pupillage. Of what use will castration; life imprisonment or the death penalty serve to this category of people? The society will merely be helping them in terminating their meaningless life; providing free accommodation and means of sustainance and if castrated, they end up committing suicide or even become a more dangerous criminal.
The third category was created by the military. These are cultists; internet fraudsters and get rich quick dudes. When the military destroyed progressive student unionism and sent out radical lecturers from the university, this category of people emerged and stepped into the void created by the departure of progressive lecturers and students. Most times, this set engage in rape and defilement for ritual purposes. They also do it because they believe and think that as a matter of right they should have access to the bodies of their victims as a matter of right by virtue of being members of a cult group. Castration; death and life imprisonment also have very little meaning to this people. They live on drugs and most time of the day they are oscillating between sanity and insanity.
Furthermore, death sentence is becoming very unpopular around the world courtesy of the rigorous; vigorous; strident and sustained campaign mounted by Amnesty International. The executive arm of government in Nigeria is also always timid and scared of signing convicts death warrants. Castration is an old; archaic and primitive mode of punishment that the world has outlived. For life imprisonment, hardly do those who have bagged such sentences ever complete them. Sooner than later the authorities would pardon them.
One contentious issue to ponder over has to do with the dress code or what the feminists describe as blaming the victim. The vogue now is to dress scanty for both women and men. But truth is, the way men and women are made is to be attracted to each other and develop the urge for sex when the attractive part of the body is seen such as breast; thigh; straight legs; beautiful face and well groomed beard. So, when feminists say dress is not and issue they are not been realistic. When Muslim countries say a man should not sake a woman or that women cover their heads and thighs, it is to avoid arousal or curtail erotic feelings between men and women who ordinarily should not be sexually engaged and not because they don’t love their women pretty and fashionable and the men handsome and well groomed.
Equally, the argument is presented as if it is only men that rape whereas it is not so. There was once a bank manager who also became a bank chairman who rapes handsome men who work under her. In fact, such men’s carrier advancement depend on how well they satisfied the lady’s secual appetite. Furthermore, don’t homosexuals and lesbians rape? Dovetailing into this is the retreat of masculinity or patriarchy. The feminists have been so loud and rancorous in their campaigns against patriarchy that the men are backpedalling. And there is a lot of dangers in this if men are to remain men and women remain women. Both men and women are designed to complement each other and not to contest and compete among themselves. There are so many things that a man cannot do and which women can excel in while there are other things a woman can do better which a man cannot do. Given this, there is no need for men to be on the retreat and abandon their masculine and physiology roles. Wearing of trousers by women does not turn them to men while use of brazier by men does not make them women.
Very harsh punishments have the tendency to breed other crimes as we now begin to see. To escape the harsh punishment of life imprisonment which defilement and rape now carries the culprit now Killing their victims. The question to weigh in then is, between death and living with the trauma of being raped which will most likely serve the best interest of the victim and the society? This is one germane issue the legislature will have to ponder over and advert its mind to on whether to kill; castrate or put in life imprisonment?
Legal history has equally show that severe or harsh punishments no longer serve as deterrent to the commission of egregious crimes. Presently, homicide; kidnapping and armed robbery are capital offences. The question is, in what ways has this deterred people from committing those egregious crimes? More importantly, the crime would have been committed before you castrate; execute and put into life imprisonment. Would poverty alleviation; psychological treatment; counselling and imprisonment, not better address the challenges of rape and defilement in societies especially if the commission of the crime does not occasion death of the victim?
To round up, one would like to surmise that it is value system that determines the nature of punishment that is prescribed for different crimes. The world; Nigeria included, is in an age of impunity; experiment and license. What used to be sacred are no longer sacred. Human life; sex and material acquisition which are treated with reference and sanctity are no longer so treated. That is why homosexuals; lesbians; anal and oral sexists now ply their trade openly. Laws have been passed allowing women to expose their breasts and even walk naked if they so desire.
The choice is that of the entire society to make.
Tunde Kolawole, a Lagos-based lawyer and notable Public Affairs Analyst writes from Lagos
