Persistent Cases of Rape: A clarion call for the domestication of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 in Gombe State

By Alhussain Ibrahim Esq

“A reasonable number of States in the Country have domesticated the Act. Some of the States are Ogun state, Oyo State, Anambra State, Edo State etc. While other States that are yet to do so are making their respective move towards the domestication.”

The outflow of issues bothering on rape in Gombe State herein referred to as (the State) is of greatest concern to every well meaning personality. In recent times, the persistent cases of rape in the State are rather on the high side.

Clearly, rape is an unacceptable act and should be condemned by all and sundry. The girl child does not deserve such horrible humiliation and treatment. One of the very notable and commendable provisions of the VAPP Act is its expansion of the meaning of rape and its prohibition thereof. While other existing laws limited their scope of rape to protecting only females in relation to vaginal penetration without consent, the Act has taken a giant stride by expanding the meaning and scope of rape to include penetration of anus or mouth of another person with any part of his/her body or anything else. The Law governing rape in the State is the Penal Code law. However, it is worthy to note that the domestication of the VAPP Act herein referred to as the Act by some States of the Federation has overtaken the provisions of the Penal Code and the Criminal Code on rape.

Section 282 of the Penal code law provides thus:
“A man is said to commit rape who, save in the cases referred to in subsection (2) has sexual intercourse with a woman in any of the following circumstance:-

i)against her will
ii) without her consent
iii) with her consent when her consent has been obtained by putting her in fear of death or of hurt
iv) with her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married
v) with or without her consent, when she is under 14 years of age or of unsound mind.”

Section 283 of the Penal code law provides thus: whoever commits rape, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or for any less term and shall also be liable to fine.

While section 1(1) of the Violence Against Person (Prohibition) Act VAPP Act 2015 provides that: A person commits the offence of rape if –

a) he or she intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with any other part of his body or anything else;

b) the other person does not consent to the penetration
c) the consent is obtained by force or means of threat or intimidation of any kind or by fear of harm or by means of false or fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act or the use of any substance or additive capable of taking away the will of such person or in case of a married person by impersonating his or her spouse”.
Section 1(2) of the Act provides that; A person convicted under subsection 1 of this section is liable to imprisonment for life except-

i) where the offender is less than 14years of age, the offender is liable to a maximum of 14 years imprisonment

ii) in all other cases, to a maximum of 12 years imprisonment.

iii) In cases of rape by a group of persons, the offenders are liable jointly to a minimum of 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine.

A cursory look at the definition, scope and punishment of rape by the penal code and that of the VAPP Act will reveal some of the expansions/innovations brought by the VAPP Act with regards to the meaning, scope and punishment of rape.

This paper is further stressing on voices that are calling for the domestication of the VAPP Act in Gombe State. I am of the humble opinion that the VAPP Act is a progressive piece of legislation with notable and commendable provisions particularly with it wide and expansive scope of rape far beyond what is obtainable in the Penal Code. The Act also took cognisance of the fact that sex now goes beyond the natural sex organs, and thus extended the scope of rape to include ones which go against every sense of morality to wit: anus and mouth. This is because it was difficult in times past, to bring an issue of forceful anal or oral sex under the umbrella of rape, simply because such occasion was not accommodated and recognized by our laws.

According to section 27 of the VAPP Act, it is only the FCT High Court that shall have jurisdiction to hear and grant any application brought under the Act. Therefore, in order for the States to benefit from the wide range of innovations brought by the VAPP Act, the need for the domestication of the Act by the States becomes necessary and cannot be over emphasized. A reasonable number of States in the Country have domesticated the Act. Some of the States are Ogun state, Oyo State, Anambra State, Edo State etc. While other States that are yet to do so are making their respective move towards the domestication. I must commend the clarion call by the various groups, NGO’s and women organisations for the domestication of the Act in the State at different fora.

Furthermore, I called on the Gombe State House of Assembly to follow the trend in other States by domesticating the VAPP Act, in order to protect the young and vulnerable people in the society. The domestication of the VAPP Act in the State will most likely encourage victims of rape to boldly speak out and ensure that they get justice against their rapist.

The mechanism put in place by the Ekiti State Ministry of Justice to operate sex offenders register and the publication of the pictures and other information about the offenders is highly commendable.

I am also of the firm view that more efforts should be done by Parents and Guardians in raising of their children (male & female) and to inculcate sexual education and awareness. The African culture of sweeping rape issues under the carpet and dealing with it privately has also encouraged the rapists in the society. We therefore, urge and encourage the parents and guardians to speak out against rape and in the event of any challenge, associations like FIDA and NBA Gombe Branch can be reached out to and am sure the necessary encouragement and intervention will be rendered.

It is obvious that reporting rape incidents might be a very emotional and difficult task for the victims of such heinous acts in our society. For such victims who are yet to summon the courage to speak out, I advise them to consider contacting organizations like FIDA & NBA amongst others. If you have ever been raped or know someone who has been raped, then you should not suffer in silence. Report the matter immediately to the relevant authorities as a means of ensuring that the rapist does not continue in the act of raping others who may be vulnerable in future. As the saying goes that a problem shared is half a problem solved.

If, you don’t know who or which organization to report to, Directorate of citizens right Ministry of Justice Gombe opposite Doma Hospital Gombe or NBA Gombe Branch secretariat situate at FTH Junction, Gombe can contacted.

*Alhussain Ibrahim Esq., wrote 22-12-2020 from Gombe and can be contacted via alhussain4220@yahoo.com