Out-of-court settlement not option for gender-based violation – Obaseki

The wife of the Edo State governor, Betsy Obaseki, Wednesday, restated the state government’s resolve to fight sexual and gender-based violence, saying an ‘out-of-court settlement’ cannot be an option for violators.

Obaseki, who is the chairman of the Edo State Gender-Based Violence (Edo-GBV) management committee, told journalists in Benin, that the state government would not tolerate a plea bargain as it would ensure that the enablers of sexual predators are prosecuted to reduce gender-based violence in the state.

According to her, the position of the state government arose from a recent judgment obtained in a case against a 57-year-old man convicted 14 years for raping a 7-year-old girl.

The Edo State first lady warned other perpetrators to discontinue the acts, adding that there is no hiding place for any violator as the law will treat everyone found guilty the same way no matter their influence in the society.

She said that Edo State has the most robust mechanism to fight gender-based violence because “we have made our law to include that whoever comes to plead for an accused will join in the case with the accused.

“If you come to me to beg because I am the chairman of the committee, I will call for the chief security officer to arrest you no matter how highly placed. Convictions should be the end of our work. When we get these convictions, we are energised and happy because we are getting results to achieve zero incidence of GBV.

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“Out-of-court settlement channel is not an option now. As much as they are crimes against person, they are also crimes against the state. There are certain crimes that are crimes against the state and when such crimes are committed whether the victims like it or not, the state will seek prosecution because the onus falls on the state to protect its citizens.

“If they could catch and prosecute armed robbers, why would they not catch and prosecute sexual predators who make life unsafe for the citizens. Attacking and raping victims is as bad as an armed robber coming into your house to shoot you and go away with your goods. Such gender-based violent behaviours to disturb the peace and security of the environment are crimes against the state,” Obaseki said.

Wole Iyamu, the attorney-general and commissioner for justice, on his part, said the ministry has a lot of cases in the pipeline to pursue, and “we are not just going after those who commit the crimes, we are also going after their enablers; those who come to plead with us.

“We live under a completely new legal regime. Anybody who comes to me or attempts to settle a case of this nature will be guilty of what we call compounding felony. We have decided that we shall treat such people compounding felonies exactly the way the law requires them to be treated,” Iyamu said.