Rape ,Child Defilement,Others Becomes Non-Bail Able Offence Says Akwa-Ibom State Government

The Akwa-Ibom state government has enacted a law to protect children and the girl child. It states that anyone caught in Child defilement, rape and related vices are henceforth non-bail able offenses.

Consequently, offenders are to be jailed without an option of fine.

The disclosure was made by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Women Affairs, Dr. Glory Edet, during a workshop on gender-based violence mitigation for the police and relevant non-governmental organizations in Uyo.

She said over 35 per cent of women world over, according to United Nations statistics, had experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, noting: “GBV undermines not only the safety and dignity of womanhood but also to a large extent, disdains their overall well-being.”

Edet added: “Anybody that rapes a child will have nothing like bail, be it a father raping his own child and so on. We must make sure that we work together to prosecute that person.”

The commissioner explained that the workshop was a wake-up call to the participants to live up to their responsibilities in curbing the menace.

She frowned on the alarming rate of GBV, saying her ministry had in the last one year attended to over 452 cases and secured 16 convictions.