Sir: There is particular issue the administration of justice in Nigeria needs to look into and ameliorate if necessary. It is no other than the judgement pronounced on accused persons in rape cases.
Nobody in his right sense will support such a heinous crime as rape and it is in the best interest of any society that those caught in the act are never allowed to go scot-free but are brought before courts of competent jurisdiction to be tried and sentenced accordingly in order to serve as deterrent to others. But be that as it may, the members of the judiciary still have to reexamine the type of judgement meted out to rapists.
Accepted that rape is a serious crime indeed considered as a capital offence, sentencing rapists to life imprisonment, however, is nothing short of an overkill. In most cases, those who are guilty of the offence most times are first offenders having no prior criminal records and therefore do not deserve more than a10-year jail sentence during which they must have learnt some lessons in proper conduct.
It is necessary to take a second look at the issue of rape as a capital offence together with others such as adultery, incest, blasphemy, sodomy all of which are categorised as deserving capital punishment with a view to adjusting the sentences so that it does not appear as killing an insect with a sledge hammer.
Jide Oyewusi is the coordinator of Ethics Watch International, Lagos.
