Nasarawa Assembly to enact stringent law against rape – Speaker

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly says it will enact a stringent law that will protect women and children against rape. Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Speaker of the House, said on Tuesday that the proposed law, when enacted, would be in the best interest of peace and development of the state and country at large. The speaker said this when Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, the former Amirat of the state Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), led the campaign rally against rape to the assembly. He said that the law, if enacted, would not only protect the women against rape but would also punish those found committing the crime to serve as deterrent to others. “We are indeed aware of this crime going on across the country. It is sad, unfortunate and must be condemned by all. “We share your concern, your pains as this act is unholy and ungodly, but some people still engage on it. “Cases of rape is at alarming in the country. What is happening to our mothers, wives, daughters is sad and unfortunate. “We are going to do everything humanly possible, especially in the area of legislation, and we will make stringent recommendations against rapists to serve as deterrent to others,” he said. Abdullahi said that the state assembly would collaborate with the Ministry of Justice in order to tackle rape cases against women. The speaker called on all Nigerians to protect women against rape and all forms of violence for the betterment of the society. Also speaking, Hajiya Halima Jabiru, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, renewed government’s commitment towards tackling rape and other crimes against women and children in the state. Earlier, the leader of the delegation, who is the former SSG, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, said that they were in the assembly to seek for the support of the House in the area of legislation against rape. She expressed concern on the alarming rate of rape cases in the country and called for collective effort to tackle it. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of FOMWAN carried placards with different inscriptions like: “Women are not objects”, “End rape with culture”, “Stop rape”, “Support the victims”, “Kick out rape” and “Act against rape”, among others. (NAN)