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Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Following the passage of the amended penal code 2020 which prescribes surgical castration for a rapist upon prosecution and conviction by Kaduna State House of Assembly and subsequent signing into law by Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Commissioner, Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba, on Thursday called on implementing agencies to be alive to their responsibility because people want to see how the law would be implemented.
The commissioner, who lamented the increase in the number of rape cases in the State to Daily Sun commended the interests – individuals, groups, the State Government and the media for putting in place a law that would address the menace of rape.
To her, if all the parties in the administration of criminal justice system would diligently and godly play their role, the law would be properly implemented and deter people from committing rape crime against all groups and ages.
“I believe that if all of us do our work judiciously with fear of God, being accountable to the people then the law will work. This is because everybody has a responsibility to make it work.
“What I meant by this is, if people in government like the ministry here, that is, Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, Ministry of Justice, the security agencies who are saddled with the responsibilities of arrest and investigation will do their work, the judiciary also – the court, the judges and lawyers, then, we will set another pace for others to follow.
“It is important we don’t alter anything like reports coming from hospitals. So, I believe we need to do a lot to make this law work.
“Honestly, people are looking at us to see what we are going to do after the law is being put in place.
“Presently, we have a lot of cases and when the law is implemented, people will be deterred from committing such an offence. But, we have to make an example with a few.
“It is just for us to have the will power to do it. We should be seen to be just and fair most especially, to the survivors because they are entitled to justice.
“I know there are some lawyers whose source of income depend on defending the accuse persons but, in as much as we want to protect the suspects, it is also our responsibility as government and other stakeholders to protect the survivors”, she said.
Commenting on whether the law could be used to established criminal charges against the existing suspects, the Executive Director, Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women, Barrister Rebecca Sako-John, the law can only take it’s a course on suspects from the day it us being signed into law by the state governor.
“Laws don’t take retrospective effect. They take effect from the day they are passed and signed – that is from the day the governor signed except the law says so which is unusual.
“So, offences that were committed before the law was passed are to be assessed by the law that was on the ground before the new law. What that means is that the new law will not be used to punish the offence committed before it is signed”, she clarified.
