A civil society organization – Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) of Nigeria – has expressed concern over the absence of State funded mechanisms for the eradication of sexual defilement and violations of children in Imo State.
The Rights group also charged Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, to partner the Chief Judge of the State to set up effective platform for the prosecution of adults engaging in criminal sexual defilement of minors in Imo State.
The Rights group insisted that Imo State government should be responsible, and combat the increasing rate of sexual offences against children such as rape, sexual abuse or grooming and crimes that exploit children by adults for a sexual purpose whether in person or online.
It said: “We are concerned by the lack of any sort of effective fight by the Imo state government against these manifest sexual crimes against Imo state children by depraved adults which is why we believe the state should establish sexual offences and domestic violence specialised courts in Imo State to confront these hydraheaded monsters eating up the innocence of our children.”
HURIWA noted that it has observed in the last few years that many children are getting sexually abused by depraved adults in Imo State but there is no strong, effective and efficient investigative and prosecution processes coordinated by a State funded commission for the protection of children from sexual violations, adding that Imo State is to have specialised courts located in the three zones of Owerri, Okigwe and Orlu for the aggressive prosecution of sexual offenders who violate children sexually.
For HURIWA, efforts must be channeled towards checking the increasing involvement of children in sex trades which are organised by crime gangs.
While commending the operatives of the Imo State Police Command for arresting three male adults who allegedly defiled a 12- year-old girl in the State, the Rights group stated that cases of sexual violations of children especially young girls hawking items on the streets of urban centres of the State are rife but the absence of any sort of well coordinated efforts by both the executive and judicial arms of government to work in synergy to combat the menace has made Imo State the capital of sexual defilement of children in the South East.
“HURIWA is appealing to the female lawyers group in Imo State to work towards ensuring that the judiciary and the executive set up specialised court system to wage war against adults who frequently sexually abuse children in Imo State. The idea that young female students go into part time prostitution to train themselves through schools, is a hydraheaded monster that government of Imo state must eradicate by introducing scholarships for indigent students in the state owned tertiary educational institutions.”
Spokesperson for the Imo State Police Command, Henry Okoye, identified the suspects as Joseph Onyeama, 35, Üzoma Nwanoreze, 30 and Eberechukwu Nwosu, 43 just as he said the survivor (name withheld), is receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital due to vaginal injuries and sexually transmitted diseases she contracted as a result.
Okoye, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said investigations revealed that the suspects had carnal knowledge of the girl at different occasions, resulting in the injuries she sustained in her vagina and transmission of diseases.
He assured that the suspects would appear in court soon after the investigation.
Okoye said the Commissioner of Police, after condemning the act, urged the residents to support the police in the fight against “barbaric acts”.
“The Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma while condemning the barbaric acts in totality, calls on the well-meaning residents of Imo State to support the Police in the onslaught against defilement, sexual assault, and other sexual related crimes,” he said. He affirmed that such societal menace is utterly condemnable and perpetrators will be made to face the wrath of the
law.
HURIWA said the open admission of the Commissioner of Police made in the form of a public plea for assistance to combat sexual defilement of children, is a concrete evidence that Imo state government needs to set up a specialised court system similar to what obtains in Lagos State to aggressively prosecute adults who sexually abuse and violate children just as the Rights group said the punitive measures including multiple life sentences which are issued by the Lagos special court against sexual defilement of children should be adopted by the imo state judiciary since the same criminal code is operable all over southern Nigeria.