From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
A coalition of women groups in Benue State have advocated for stiffer punishment for pertrators of Sexual Gender Based Violence against women and girls.
The women, led by the GBV focal person for Apin Public Health Initiative, Lucia Torjir, made this call in Makurdi the Benue state capital.
Speaking on behalf of the women and other partners at a press conference in Makurdi on Tuesday, Torjir said a six years jail term handed down the rapist was like a pat on the shoulder.
The women said the convict deserve much more punishment to serve as a deterrent to others.
Torjir was responding to the conviction of one 36 year-old Denen Agena, on October 30, 2023 in which a six years jail term was given to the convict by a Benue State High Court in Makurdi for raping a 13 year old girl.
They urged the Benue State government to appeal the six year jail term so he can get a stiffer punishment.
He convict, Agena, married with children was said to have raped the victim and abandoned her in a pool of blood at an uncompleted building in 2020.
When the case came up for ruling, Presiding Justice Ijoho, had maintained that the penalty was to deter others intending to commit the same crime.
But the women expressed displeasure at the judgment saying “we received with mixed feelings the incident that happened recently, first, feeling of joy that we were able to get justice against gender based violence but on the other hand, we are not too happy about the judgment of the court.
“This is concerning a case of a minor who is a 13 years old child of a vulnerable mother whose daughter was violated and abandoned in a building in 2020.
“Our partner, Global Women Right and Child Initiative, worked with Lawyers Alert to get the perpetrator arrested in 2020.
“And in 2021, the case was filed in court and in 2023, specifically, on 30, October, judgment was passed.
“We were really excited to the fact that unlike previous incidents where such cases were struck out on technicalities, we were able to get justice as the rapist was sentenced to six years imprisonment coupled with a fine of N100,000.00.”
She however expressed worried that the penal code was used to pass the judgement instead of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) laws, adding that the law stipulates life imprisonment or lesser terms for perpetrators of gender based violence found guilty with fine.
“According to Socrates, the great philosopher, Justice is working at that naturally best suited, going by this, six years jail term was not best suited as compared to life imprisonment term the law stipulated in our own sense of judgment.
“Based on this, we have collectively come together to demand that the state government appeal this judgment so as to serve as a deterrent to others,” she said.