LAGOS state government in Nigeria set an unprecedented record in Nigeria as the first state in Nigeria to open up register for sex offenders in the state. The states dynamic Governor, Babatunde Fashola signed an executive order that among other things provides for mandatory reporting of actual or suspected child abuse.
In a move aimed to arrest the growing rise on and women abuse, the Lagos State government has started collating details of where offences take place. Yesterday, at the opening of the sexual offenders register in Ikeja, Governor Fashola revealed that Alimosho, Kosofe, Agege and Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Areas are the councils with the highest cases of sexual and gender-based crimes in the state.
Ade Ipaye, the Lagos State attorney-general and the commissioner for justice, said that the government was prosecuting no fewer than 113 sexual violence cases across high courts in the state. Adding that the government will pursue the matter vigorously, Governor Fashola said that the number of the sexual and gender-based violence offenders will not reduce without the collective effort of everyone.
Governor Fashola noted: “I will like to tell those perpetrating the act in these local governments to desist now because we would be coming after them. We will combat these crimes so that they do not become big crimes in the state.”
He noted that the state’s capacity to deal with such criminals has been strengthened by the reforms in the high and the magistrate courts. Addressing heads of non-governmental organisations, including the managing partner of the Partnership for Justice, Itoro Eze-Anaba, Governor Fashola lamented that women and children are the most vulnerable members of the society.
“In order to ensure that criminals are monitored, we have created a crime data register which includes everyone who has engaged the criminal justice system of the state and we have close to a 100, 000 offenders on that register. Very soon, we will start deploying people to the data rooms in the police stations across the state to gather the bio data of offenders including their photographs and others.”
“This is the time for us to have a local enforcement unit, either we call it state police or whatever name we wish to call it, to protect the women from frequent abuse from the opposite gender. This is also the time for women to rise up and challenge employers who sets unimaginable targets for their female employees which are not set for men,” Governor Fashola added.
According to Mr Ipaye: “The major aim of the sex offenders monitoring programme and the mandated reporter policy is to reduce repeat cases by providing names and personal details of convicted sex offenders in the state to a central database. This database will be accessible to individuals and organisations that need information, so for instance, school proprietors who want to recruit can access this register as a form of background check.”
“The mandated reporter policy will also make it compulsory for all state school administrators, counsellors, teachers, social welfare officers and any other official of the state government having any dealings with children to report any suspected or actual child abuse or neglect to the attorney-general’s office. It is envisaged that the sex offenders register will be open and maintained by the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in partnership with the Lagos State Judiciary, the Nigerian Prisons and the Nigerian Police.”
