The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ekiti State, Olawale Fapohunda, has lamented the increasing rate of rape cases in the state, asking critics to put themselves in the shoes of parents of the victims.
Fapohunda in a series of tweets on his official Twitter handle explained how the past week has been a “week of Rape Rage and One day one rape incident” in the state.
He recounted how each day was about him handling one rape case or the other.
Reflecting over my Diary this week. It was a week of “Rape Rage”-One day One Rape incident. @bisiafayemi @AbiodunBorisade @AO1379 @Debiwumi @Ekitiupdate @oapaynigeria @ekiti_MOjustice
— Olawale Fapohunda (@AGWalefapohunda) May 1, 2021
According to him, on Monday, he got a briefing on the health situation of a 9-year-old girl who was violently raped by her uncle and needed multiple surgeries on her Clitoris. While on Tuesday, a 7-year-old girl was raped by her father’s friend.
“Reflecting over my Diary this week. It was a week of “Rape Rage”-One day One Rape incident.
“On Monday, I got a briefing on the health situation of a 9-year-old girl who was violently raped by her uncle. She needed multiple surgeries to her Clitoris.
“On Tuesday, a 7-year-old girl was raped by her father’s friend. I was also briefed on the situation of a SSS 3 Girl who was gang-raped a month ago and is now pregnant. On Wednesday, a 14-year-old girl complained that she has been raped severally since she was 10 by her Guardian.
“On Thursday, a 6-year-old girl was sodomized by her mother’s business partner. Her mother is a rape survivor.
“On Friday while I was trending on major platforms for ordering phantom arrests, I was busy trying to calm down a distraught mother who suspects that her husband is having sexual intercourse with her 9-year-old daughter.
He also revealed had been accused of being too harsh on the alleged sex offenders. Fapohunda stated that he was told his hardline attitude towards some sex offenders who were from his party could cost them votes come 2022, while opposition parties have accused him of targeting their members for political gains.
“In all these I have been accused of being too harsh on the alleged sex offenders. I have been told that these girls are not my daughters. That these matters are best resolved within the family. There is also the issue of politics.
“Some within my Party argue that my hardline attitude especially when the offender is our sympathizer will cost us votes in 2022 while the other Party accuse me of targeting their members for political gains. I plead guilty to the charge of zero tolerance.
“All I ask from these critics is to put themselves in the shoes of the parents of these girls and ask themselves if these were their daughter’s and they complained to me and I did nothing, will they commend me for a job not done?
“Next week, I will be inviting the Chiefs of a Community that enacted a law that effectively prevents victims of rape from seeking support from my office!!!, ” he concluded.