Civil society organisations are opposed to repeal of Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act because of clauses in the new bill.
A lecturer of Law at Baze University, Abuja, Ozioma Izuora, said the bill to repeal VAPP Act reintroduces ‘defilement’, which was part of the old law that considers minors incapable of being raped.
She spoke at the Criminal Law Review Conference of Rule of Law Development Foundation in Abuja, with theme: “Administration of criminal justice in Nigeria: How to navigate emerging and systemic challenges of insecurity and hardship.”
Izuora said the amendment undermines statutory rape in the Child’s Rights Act and treaties signed by Nigeria prohibiting child marriage.
“If defilement is allowed into the law, nobody under 18 can ever be said to be raped.
“It also removes protection given to boys and men by the 2015 Act. We know boys and men are susceptible to rape,” she said.
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Foundation Coordinator, former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Joseph Daudu (SAN), called for construction of a befitting correctional centre in each of the 774 local governments.
He said: “A further mandate of this conference is to review the progress and performance of correctional institutions, which are key to success or smooth operation of socio-economic, politico-cultural system such as the Nigerian state.
“Our correctional institutions or prisons are in a decrepit state and offensive conditions of squalor and disrepair. They constitute serious health hazard to inmates.
“As a result of growing crime rate and instability generated by insecurity and criminality, there is a need for governments (pursuant to 2022/2023 constitutional amendment that placed correctional centres and prisons on concurrent legislative list) to build, construct or install one multi-purpose correctional centre in each of the 774 councils in Nigeria.”
Daudu said the conference began six years ago as one of the foundation’s flag events, to provide a forum for review of developments in crime apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, and post-adjudicatory processes of the criminal justice system.