#Nigeria: Two brothers Remanded in Prison for Raping 14YO Girl in #Osun

An Osogbo chief magistrates’ court on Wednesday ordered the remand of two brothers for abducting and raping a 14-year-old girl.

The brothers, Feyisola Olatunji, 25, and Olabode Olatunji, 28, allegedly conspired and committed the offences on October 12, 2013 at about 9.45 p.m. at the Old Governor’s office area in Osogbo.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Wilson Mereti, told the court that the accused persons committed the offences by kidnapping their victim and unlawfully had carnal knowledge of her.

The Worrisome Growth of Rape Cases in #Nigeria

One major definition or should I say characteristic of news that is etched indelibly in my memory is that “when a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.” This characteristic, as I was told, explains the need to avoid publishing recurrent issues as headlines so as not to bore the reader. Events that are not commonplace attract more audience than daily occurrences.

Personally, recurring news don’t tickle my fancy. And I’m sure there are many people whose attentions are not drawn by news articles they’ve read many times.

For a while now, cases of rape and all forms of sexual molestations, especially on innocent little girls have become widespread. Times there were when such cases roused many discussions and made the banner headlines of our newspapers. However, with the frequency of such cases, I’m afraid they have been consigned to the category of “dog bites man”. Having been overly reported, they only attract little readership. People now dismiss such news with a shrug of their shoulders as they have become commonplace and deserve no second thought.

More worrisome and heartbreaking is the fact that bizarre cases where renowned clergymen have unholy relationships with their church members (read) and fathers molest their children (Also read) now constitute the bulk of these cases. These cases are published but most times, we don’t get to hear anything concerning their outcomes.

#Nigeria: Edo Hospital Alone Records over 80 Rape Cases In Seven Months

In a recent news by Daily Post, a pathologist with Central Hospital, Benin said on Monday that the hospital recorded more than 80 cases of rape from March to mid-October.

Dr Jude Uchendu, a Consultant Pathologist in the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine in the hospital, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin.

He said that more than 90 per cent of the cases were committed by people known by the victims with a significant number committed by neighbours or blood relations.

He said that only few were carried out by strangers, such as armed robbers and people who met the girls on the way and took them to uncompleted buildings.

Uchendu also said that some of the perpetrators of the crime were the girls’ fathers and caregivers.

“Between the month of March and October, we have interviewed over 80 patients and unfortunately, most of them are less than 18 years.

#Nigeria –– Alarming! Gombe Records 61 Rape Cases in 36 Months

The Programme Coordinator, Centre for Community Health and Development, Mrs Lucy Usein, said 61 rape cases had been recorded in Gombe State in the last three years.

Usein made this known at a news conference organised by a non-governmental organisation, Child Protection Network, in Gombe, on Tuesday.

She said 14 cases were reported to the organisation in 2011, 26 cases in 2012 and 21 cases so far in 2013.

“These are the only ones that are reported; there are many cases and because of fear of stigmatisation, parents do not like the matter to be treated in public,” she said.