Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
Gombe State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Friday said no fewer than 44 suspects in cases relating to rape and other unnatural offense have been charged to court by the command from January to June.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of CID Gombe DCP Adamu Isa who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Gombe 46 cases were reported and that out of the number 44 was arrested. He added that all arrested suspects have been charged to court and are awaiting conviction.
The DCP disclosed that the menace of rape has taken a new dimension and that it has become a problem which could be described as a pandemic in the state. While he assures that the police will not relent in bringing the perpetrators to book DCP Adamu lamented on the failure of parents to report rape cases in the past.
He tasked leaders of various religious groups in the state on the need to take parents on how to ensure the safety of their ward. “In the past parents don’t report rape incident because of fear of stigma,” he said while adding that the experience has led to the proliferation of cases not only Gombe but in the country at large.
The police official equally called on the state government to impose a stringent penalty on rape to serve as a deterrent to a potential rapist in the state.