Oyo State Police Public Relations officer, PPRO, Bisi Okuwobi, speaks with GBENRO ADESINA on rape in the state
Q: It is generally believed that rape is on the increase. Do you agree with this position?
A: Rape is a menace we are currently contending with in Oyo State.
Q: How are you coping with the increase?
A: Because I cannot verify your claim that it is rampant, I would not make a blanket statement. But I know that cases of rape are more rampant in some areas of Ibadan. Beere, Agugu, Yemetu and Iwo Road are the areas you hear of rape cases. The reason could be the environmental setting of the areas. Because of the clumsiness and congestion of the areas, it is easy to rape young girls there. You will agree with me that it is easy to rape in face-me-I-face-you apartments, where neighbours have easy access to one another. Men see young ladies tying wrappers and wearing sexy dresses. Seeing these girls, either in the same house or girls living around, men lure them, whether young or old, to bed and rape them. There was a time we had a case of rape at Orita area of Challenge, where a five-year-old girl on an errand was raped by a bricklayer. This kind of thing happens.
Q: Are the underaged more at risk than adults?
A: The underaged or teenagers are more vulnerable. They lack the strength and wisdom to save themselves, unlike adults who will deploy all means to escape being raped. They will resist, shout, scream and do all sorts of things.
Q: What do you think the police can do to curb rape?
A: It is not what we can do. There is nothing we can do to stop or prevent it. Our work does not go outside statutory responsibility, which gives us the power to prosecute rapists. We charge them to court and hand over. To prevent it, parents have a lot to do. Parents have to teach their children sex education. They should teach their daughters not to allow anybody, especially those close to them like their cousins, uncles and fathers’ friends, to touch sensitive parts of their bodies.
Q: Police attitude, it is often said, discourages victims from reporting rape because policemen laugh at and accuse them of encouraging it?
A: I don’t agree with that position. We take rape cases seriously and ensure that culprits are brought to book. Sometime ago, we arrested three boys that raped a 65-year-old woman under Ojoo bridge and prosecuted them. There is no reason to add to the trauma victims are going through.
Q: How do you react to policemen taking advantage of some ladies in custody under the pretext that they can help them out of their problem?
A: I would not want to call that rape because there is consent between the parties involved. However, in Oyo State we don’t have such cases.
Q: Do you like the way rape cases are being handled in our courts?
A: I don’t want to comment on that because I believe that the judges know what to do. But I strongly suggest that the punishment attached to rape should be stringent. Judges should not use their discretion in punishing rapists. They should impose the stiffest punishment like life imprisonment, let it not be seven or 14 years imprisonment. Two, the victims should not die in silence. When they are raped, they should come out and tell the police so we can prosecute the culprits. Another problem that makes rape rampant is members of the public don’t join hands to fight it. Imagine somebody being raped and she shouts for help and nobody comes to her assistance..
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