Adamawa Ministry of Justice has revealed that the state was only able to secure one conviction out of four rape cases reported between January and Aug. 10 2023.
The Senior State Counsel, Adamu Abubakar, who is also the Police Liaison Officer in charge of the sexual offences database in the state, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola.
He said that the three other cases are still ongoing in court.
According to him, the chamber of the attorney-general only received and prosecute cases of rape and defilement.
He added that “from January till date, we received few cases from the police. So far, we received four cases, one of which secured conviction.”
He said the establishment of the DNA Forensic Laboratory by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Yola would help investigators and prosecutors in the collection and presentation of evidence, especially on sexual matters.
The senior state counsel, therefore, advised the public to take it as a matter of responsibility to report any case of sexual nature to the police.
He also advised that such cases could also be reported to the Hope Centre, where victims could receive prompt first aid immediately after the incident happened, especially rape cases.
He said that “Before now, we received a lot of cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), but due to lack of forensic evidence in some cases, we lost them.
“In most cases, the challenge we have is the lack of evidence and to some extent, lack of cooperation from families.”
Also, the Adamawa DNA Forensic Laboratory, dedicated to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, recorded 16 samples for analysis between January and July 2023.
The Laboratory Technician, Usman Adamu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola on Sunday.
He said that the analysis is for investigations to get evidence for the conviction of GBV perpetrators in court, especially rape cases.
The UN has defined GBV as any violence committed against a person because of his or her sex or gender, forcing another person to do something against his or her will through violence, coercion, threats, deception, cultural expectations, or economic means.
Some examples of SGBV are rape, physical assault, forced marriage, and Female Genital Mutilation.
The technician, therefore, said out of the 16 samples, 13 were negative and one turned out to be positive, while two are awaiting analysis.
He told NAN that the laboratory recorded 87 samples since inception in 2021, aimed at accelerating access to justice for GBV survivors.
He said that the samples were brought for analysis by Police CID, Civil Defence and the HOPE Centre, which in the end would help the prosecution in courts.
According to him, the laboratory does not accept samples from individuals.
It was report that the laboratory is being run by the Modibbo Adama University, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA Nigeria) and the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative.
Do you want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity for a product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348183319097 Email: platformtimes@gmail.com
We are committed to impactful investigative journalism for human interest and social justice. Your donation will help us tell more stories. Kindly donate any amount HERE
