LAGOS RAPE CASES WORSEN

Lagos raises the alarm over high rate of rape cases The Lagos State government has raised the alarm over increase in rape and defilement of minors in the past months. The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye, on Thursday, expressed the state’s worry, adding that the trend had reached an alarming stage. The attorney-general, who was speaking at a monthly press briefing on criminal justice of the state Ministry of Justice at the conference room of the ministry, disclosed that 427 of rape/defilement cases were reported last year alone, adding that there were some that were not reported. “It is regrettable that other cases were not reported by parents wanting to protect the integrity and identity of the child-victim,” he said. Ipaye added that though the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) got positive judgements in respect of six cases recently, the ministry had serious challenges in assembling evidence on rape cases because most of the cases were reported late. Meanwhile, the AG said that the state had recorded 60 per cent reduction in crime rate owing to the enforcement of the new Lagos traffic law. “There has also been a 35.9 to 70 per cent reduction in the number of vehicles apprehended from November to December 2012. This shows increasing voluntary compliance among motorists, for which we highly commend Lagosians,” he said. Speaking on the fuel subsidy protest killing, he explained that the trial of the former DPO, Pen Cinema Police station, Mr Segun Fabunmi, alleged to have killed Ademola Aderinde during the protest against increase in the pump price of fuel in 2012, would soon commence at the Lagos High Court. According to him, the matter would have commenced, but the elevation of the judge who was assigned to the matter, Justice Habeeb Abiru, to the Court of Appeal affected the commencement of the trial. He said the trial would soon commence as his ministry had filed all the necessary information on the matter and the case was reassigned. He explained further that the OPD is working in concert with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja Branch and have instituted a civil action into the matter involving the police and the police have responded.