Story from Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Ministry of Justice has secured six convictions on rape cases with another 18 cases pending in courts.
The Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary Ministry of Justice, Aliyu Bin Idris (Esq) stated this in Bauchi at a capacity training for key stakeholders in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) held at Hazibal Suites conference centre.
Giving a breakdown of the convictions, Bin Idris said, “the court of appeal had affirmed the judgement in the case of;
(1) Shamsuddeen Adamu A.k.a Duna V. State CA/J/76/C/2020 Convicted for Rape and Sentenced to Lifetime Imprisonment.
(2) 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
(3) 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.
Bin Idris said that the High Court had also passed judgement on the following convicts:
(1) State V. Salisu Haruna BA/45/C/2018 Convicted for Attempted Rape and Act of Gross Indecency.
(2) State V. AbdulKarim Sani BA/51/C/2018 Attempted Rape and Act of Gross Indecency and
(3) State v. Shamsudeen Adamu & 2 Others BA/23/C/2018 Convicted for Rape, sentenced to lifetime imprisonments.
He said that 18 rape cases are now pending/ongoing in court and that two more will be forwarded to the Ministry later for legal advice.
Bin 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”.
Solicitor General said this can be achieved through diligent investigation by the police and willing witnesses from the communities coming to testify.
The 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 is established by the authorities”.
Fatima who also doubles as the chairperson of ASHH Foundation, SGBV case management and member, Bauchi State Action Committee on SGBV, further said that “there are some things that need to be proven during prosecution of rape cases and the evidence is only obtainable during investigations”.
She also called for closer collaboration between all stakeholders towards mitigating SGBV to the barest level.
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.
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