There was outrage in the Senate on Thursday during the debate on the issue of rape of a two-year old.
The Upper Chamber ordered its committee on Police Affairs to investigate the act of pedophilia on a two-year old female infant by a police corporal, Anthony Onoja, on October 20, 2013 in Mararaba, Nasarawa State.
It urged the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to ensure that Corporal Onoja is prosecuted.
The decision of the Senate was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Helen Esuene the Upper Chamber who brought the matter to the attention of the Senate so that offender will not go scot free.
Senators who spoke in support of the motion solicit for maximum penalty for anyone who was involved in the act of pedophilia. Senator Barnabas Gemade who advocated an improvement on the quality of law enforcement where a criminal is punished for any crime committed.
Speaking on the motion, Senator Helen Esuene who expressed dissatisfaction with persistence issue of child rape said anyone involved in the act should be punish because the punishment of the anyone involved in it would serve as deterrent to other people.
She who lamented that the issue of child rape is the one that touhes every Nigeria adding that there is need to take urgent action against because the next victim is unknown.
Senate President David Mark urged maximum punishment for the offender and cautioned against dismissing the issue as a mental case.
He also stressed the need to punish offenders irrespective of their status in the society. According to him, crimes are committed all over the world but the case with Nigeria is that offenders are never apprehended or punished.
“The reason people obey laws is because of fear of punishment. If not, the normal tendency is for every human being to do the wrong thing.
“Crimes are committed all over the world, it is not only in Nigeria but the difference is that when our own is committed, we don’t get the people who commit it and when we eventually find the people, we don’t punish them.
“I think we should begin to punish people who commit crimes no matter how small or big, irrespective of whom they are. I believe that this particular case must attract maximum punishment whatever way we look at it.
“Is it a mental case, yes or no? I say no because if the matter is taken to court and then, they say ‘no, it is a mental case’, that becomes an excuse for him to go scot-free. So, we must also be mindful of insisting that it is a mental case. I think that whether it is a mental case or not, it must get a maximum punishment”, Mark said.
Senator Mark also regretted that since the incident, nothing has been heard of the Police and called for justice as soon as possible.
“Like it was rightly concluded, for you to do injustice to a child, it is better one is not born at all. And for what this man has done, that we have not heard any reaction so far is most worrisome. I don’t know what the Police has done up till this point in time and I don’t know if the sponsor of the motion has heard anything so far since this incident took place.
“I think by now, it should have been making headlines. The action taken by the Police should have been making headlined. But so far, we have not heard anything and I think this is one of the cases that whatever resolution we take here, the committee must make sure it is followed up as quickly as possible.
“Let me repeat what has been said of our resolutions. People don’t obey our resolutions because they are not binding. But we can make our resolutions binding and we have said it time without number that there is a pending bill, which will make our resolutions binding by two/third majority and not mere voice vote.
“It is not just rape, the person involved, the infant is even a more serious issue whether it is rape or not. And for him to debase himself to that level, it is almost impossible for us to know what to say for fear of being regarded as somebody with a background of always not obeying human rights. Even if we tie him to a stake and kill him, it is not enough punishment.
“So, I believe that that bill should be brought to the front burner so that our resolutions can become binding. I agree that this is a very serious issue and it should be treated with the same seriousness”, he said.