Ese Oruru: Judges Demand Stiffer Penalties.

High court judges in the South-West geopolitical zone have called for strong punishment for those involved in the Ese Oruru’s abduction saga, saying this would serve as a deterrent to others and stem the tide of child abuse and molestation in the country.

The judges made the call on Thursday, in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at a training workshop on Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, organised by New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), a non-governmental organisation, with support from the British High Commission.

They expressed the desire to have those convicted for rape to be jailed for life.

Speaking on the occasion, a judge in the Oyo State High Court, Justice Aderonke Aderemi, expressed regret at the circumstances which led to the alleged marriage of Ese to Yunusa without the consent of her parents.

The high court judge called for a review of some laws in the nation to give more teeth to extant laws to punish such offenders.

Aderemi said: “Penalty for rape is too mild. Those found guilty of rape should face life sentence, because it is when those sentences are more stringent that such incidences will reduce.

“We need to review our laws to give room for life sentence for such crime, so as to serve as deterrent to other culprits.

Also speaking, Justice Akin Oladimeji of the Osun State High Court said culture and religion had not helped the cause of women in Nigeria and other African countries, saying these formed part of triggers of violence against women, which he said had become more rampant than the violence against men.

He contended that some culture and region specifically made men to be lords over women, which made it easy for them to batter women.

According to him, “in most cases, culture and religious knowledge always teach women in such circumstances to accept the situation as their own fate.”

He suggested that there should increased public enlightenment by the media on this.

He added that clerics and religious leaders should be urged to preach against the act at their various religious gathering.

Justice Titilayo Adesola-Ikpatt of the Ondo State High Court, called for the establishment of a special desk and a special court to handle cases of abuse of women “because of the slow nature of the regular court.”

Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, called for a summit of all stakeholders, including the media, civil society organisations, police, judiciary to come together and tackle the menace.

Meanwhile, the total rehabilitation and integration of abducted but now freed Ese Oruru into the society is our concern, the Delta State government has said.

According to the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Patrick Ukah, the state government would collaborate with the Bayelsa State government to also ensure her speedy recovery.

The position of the government was made known on Wednesday, when a delegation made up of the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Ukah; Commissioner for Special Duties, Government House, Chief Henry Siakpra and the Chief of Staff, Government House, Asaba, Honourable Tam Brisibe, visited the Oruru family in Yenogoa.

Mr Ukah, who spoke to journalists in the company with the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Mr Peter Ogunyanwo, who facilitated the visit, appreciated the Bayelsa State government and the state police command for adequately taking care of Miss Oruru at the Police Officers Mess in Yenogoa.

Ese’s father, Mr Charles Oruru, flanked by his wife, Rose, thanked the delegation for the visit and assured that his daughter would go back to school after delivering her baby.

Earlier on arrival in Yenogoa, the delegation, which was accompanied by the member representing Patani constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, Honourable Timi Tonye, visited the deputy governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral John Jonah, where the Chief of Staff, Government House, Asaba, Honourable Tam Brisibe, disclosed that the delegation was sent by the Delta State governor, Dr Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, to see how Miss Oruru was recovering.

In his response, the deputy governor revealed that they did what they did in the abduction saga, because the Oruru family resided in the state, where they had their business and paid tax to the state government.

He said that as part of the rehabilitation process, the state government had concluded plans to relocate the family to a new environment, so as to make her recovery a quicker one.

(TRIBUNE)