A civil rights group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANA) to tackle the incidence of ‘sexual violations’ of admission seekers and students.
HURIWA said that while reacting to a viral video of a lecturer with the University of Lagos, demanding for sex from a female candidate seeking admission.
The lecturer, Boniface Igbeneghu, is a former sub-dean of Faculty of Art and head pastor of local Foursquare Gospel Church.
His advances were captured in a 13-minute video by BBC Africa.
Reacting to the development, the group, while condemning the university authorities for failing to rein the rampaging group of bullies in the guise of lecturers who have continued to rape female students in exchange for grades and admission added that sexual harassment of females and males in schools have reached an epidemic dimension demanding comprehensive national panacea.
It, however, proposed the introduction of legislation to stipulate the chemical castration of rapists convicted for violating the dignity of children.
The group said that the proposal for the new law has been sent to the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami; Minister of Women Affairs Mrs. Pauline Tallen; Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila.
“In Nigeria rape is unlawful carnal knowledge of a female by a male. It could be non-consensual sex with an adult female or carnal knowledge of a female child or minor. On the other hand Chemical castration is the use of anaphrodisiac drugs to lower sexual drive. It does not involve removing a person’s testicles like surgical castration but only the use of drugs delivered by injection to render the testicles irrelevant. According to the American Journal of Criminal Law, 1990, chemical castration “reduces the production and effects of testosterone, thus diminishing the compulsive sexual fantasy. Formerly inconsistent and commanding urges can be voluntarily controlled.
”Chemical castration is legal in 8 States of USA although not all States make the treatment mandatory. In 1996 California became the first US State to legalize it by requiring mandatory treatment for repeat sex offenders but discretionary injections for first time offenders. Florida and Texas followed suit but in the latter State, the offender must be at least 21 years of age. In Iowa, chemical castration is allowed in all cases of serious sex offences. In Louisiana, judges can sentence convicted rapists to chemical castration. The State of Alabama law passed in 2019 requires, as a condition of parole, that convicted sex offender of a child under the age of 13 undergo the treatment which will continue until a court rules otherwise.”
“In Canada, the courts cannot order offenders to undergo chemical castration – they can only impose psychiatric treatment, which can include the use of anti-libido medication. In 2006, the Canadian Court of Appeal ruled it constitutional for the National Parole Board to require that recidivist sex offenders, if found to be long-term offenders, be chemically castrated as conditions of release.”
HURIWA added that there was need to put in place sustainable regime of legal frameworks to confront the hydraheded monster of sexual harassment of female students and admission seekers by lecturers.