By Segun Awofadeji
The Bauchi State Government, through the State Ministry of Justice, has disclosed that it has so far secured six convictions on rape cases with another 18 cases pending in courts.
The Solicitor – General and Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Justice, Aliyu Bin Idris, disclosed this over the weekend during a capacity training for key stakeholders in the fight against sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) held at Hazibal Suites conference centre in Bauchi.
Giving a breakdown of the convictions, Bin Idris said, “the Court of Appeal had affirmed the judgement in the case of: Shamsuddeen Adamu A.k.a Duna v. State CA/J/76/C/2020 (Convicted for Rape and Sentenced to Lifetime Imprisonment); Abbas Usman A.k.a Gero v. State CA/J/75/C/ 2020 (Convicted for the offence of Rape and Sentenced to Life Imprisonment) and Al-Amin Yunusa A.k.a Maka v. State CA/18/C/2020 (Convicted for the Offence of Rape and also Sentenced to Life Imprisonment).
He further disclosed that the High Court had also passed judgement on the following convicts:
State v. Salisu Haruna BA/45/C/2018 (Convicted for Attempted Rape and Act of gross Indecency); State v. AbdulKarim Sani BA/51/C/2018 (Attempted Rape and Act of Gross Indecency); and State v. Shamsudeen Adamu & 2 Others BA/23/C/2018 (Convicted for Rape, sentenced to lifetime imprisonments).
He also said that 18 rape cases were now pending or on going in court and that two more will be forwarded to the ministry Monday for legal advice.
Idris commended the organizers of the training for their foresight in bringing together , key stakeholders focused on SGBV, stressing that, “the menace of rape and other gender based violence should be of concern for all. Bauchi State government under the present administration has created the enabling environment for the prosecution of offenders.
“The onus now lays with the community, where such crimes are perpetrated and the police to help us in ensuring that state secure convictions through successful prosecution of offenders”.
This, according to the solicitor general, can be achieved through diligent investigation by the police and willing witnesses from the communities coming forward to testify.
While speaking on the general management of rape cases, state chairperson of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Fatima Abubakar, enumerated some key responsibilities of community in assisting the police and courts towards prosecuting offenders.
She said, “communities should be educated on the need to report such cases as soon as it happens and also not to tamper with anything on the body of the victim until when all evidence are established by the authorities”.
Fatima Abubakar, who also doubles as the chairperson of ASHH Foundation SGBV case management and member Bauchi State Action Committee on SGBV further revealed that, “there are some things that need to be proven during prosecution of rape cases and those evidence are only obtainable during investigations”.
She also called for closer collaboration between all stakeholders towards mitigating SGBV to the barest level.
THiSDAY reports that the capacity training, organized by ASHH Foundation in collaboration with Action Aid and Global Affairs Canada, attracted participants drawn from the police, civil defence corps, medical doctors, ministry of justice, other MDAs , CSOs and the Media.
