Justice denied: Focus on Gombe rape cases

For rape victims in Gombe, the law never take its course

Crime on the increase, as perpetrators get a slap on the wrist

The punishment for rape, as spelt out in Section 358 of the Criminal Code, is life imprisonment, while an attempt to commit rape attracts 14 years in jail. But in Gombe, convicted rapists get three-month jail terms or as little as N15, 000 fine.

PAUL ORUDE reports.

In Gombe State, rape is a major societal crisis. Sadly, many perpetrators are getting away with the crime, with little or no consequences. And many more girls and women are finding themselves at the receiving end.

Ali Abba, a handset repairer and a convicted rapist in Billiri, Gombe State, shocked neighbours when he reportedly boasted that he would rape his victim, a 14 year old girl, again. “After all, it is just to

pay N15, 000 and be free,” he submitted.

The alleged rape was carried out on November 19, 2014 while Abba was in December sentenced to three months imprisonment by the Civil Area Court in Billiri. But he was also given an option of a fine of N15, 000. He promptly paid the fine and is now walking about again.

The victim’s father, Kabiru Mohammed Abubakar, explained his frustration and pains and the trauma his daughter went through.

But he said he is more outraged by the poor handling of the investigation by the police than Ali’s assertion that he could “do it” to his daughter again

“I was in Kaltungo when my wife called me. I was shocked. She is a well-mannered girl. You can imagine my pains. When I came home to Billiri that night, I reported the matter to the police and Ali was arrested. It was not until in the morning that I took her to the hospital,” Kabiru recalled. According to the father, the teenager was allegedly lured into the bush by Ali Abba, in his late 20s after taking food to a sick relation in a hospital in Billiri.

“He told my daughter that he would accompany her to the hospital but she told him there was no need as she had transport fare. When he insisted, she agreed because she did not suspect that he had any evil intention, and he used that opportunity to rape her.

“They even reached the hospital and after she had finished what took her there, she left and he started following her. On their way home, he raped her in the bush at about 10 in the night. I was in Kaltungo when I was called. That he is threatening to rape her again is worrisome. I learnt that he has fled the town,” Kabiru told Daily Sun.

Rape is a big problem in Gombe State. Sadly, however, only few people would rather talk about it. Many are those that shy away from discussing rape because of the stigma often associated with being a victim.

According to the Gombe Police command, 72 rape cases of rape were reported between 2012 and 2014. An official statistics of rape cases in Gombe State, as obtained by the reporter on January 15, 2015, revealed that 92 suspects were arrested in connection with rape cases.

A total of 65 out of the cases were charged to court in the period under review.

The record shows that 16 suspects were convicted in connection with cases involving rape in the state in the last three years.

The situation was alarming in 2013, with 32 cases recorded. In 2012, only 19 cases were recorded while 25 cases were reported in 2014.

However, the breakdown indicated that from 2012 to 2014, 11 cases are still under investigation by the police. The record showed that while six and five cases in 2012 and 2013 respectively are currently being investigated by the police, no case in 2014 is being investigated by the command. The record shows that 52 suspects are currently awaiting trial in Gombe State in connection with rape in the courts.

Research by the British Council in 2012 on gender-based violence issues discovered that one out of every three of all women and girls fewer than 15 to 24 have been a victim of violence. A 2007 report published by Amnesty International confirmed that a third of victims are believed to have been subjected to physical, sexual violence.

Coordinator of Gombe State Child Protection Network, Barrister Fatima Gamdo Birma, disclosed that CPN has received several reports of rape against children and other child protection issues over the last few years.

“There are many unreported cases because of fear of stigmatisation. Parents do not like the matter to be treated in public. This is part of the rising cases of domestic violence against women and the denial of the rights of the girl-child in our society.

“Our women and girls face daunting challenges; in the last couple of years, many have fallen victims to such bestialities like gang rape, incest and all manner of domestic abuse.

“It was confirmed that more than 31.4 per cent of the girls that are living with HIV reported rape as their first encounter with sex. Most women and girls that are violated would rather suffer the psychological and physical trauma silently than reveal their encounter, and so, the culprit goes scot-free.

“Many other victims are too scared of stigmatisation by the public,” she said. Sometimes a case could suddenly be withdrawn by families of victims, thereby frustrating every effort to get justice for helpless victims.

“It is a pathetic situation,” said Lucy Usen, Programme Coordinator of Centre for Community and Health Development in Gombe Lucy wondered what protection girls and women in the state could receive if suspects of serious cases of rape were given a slap on the wrist with light sentences.

“Hadiza Adamu, a teenage groundnut seller was raped by one Adamu Saidu in May 2014. Adamu was sentenced to six months imprisonment by a Magistrate Court in Gombe. This is not justice. Or what would you say of Maryam Isa, a four-year-old girl raped by a neighbour? She was unconscious for three days and was bleeding profusely. We thought she would die. Thank God she survived. But why should the rapist not get punished?”

Lucy believed part of the problem of prosecuting rape cases in the state is the lack of prompt medical care for victims. “The victims don’t often get the medical report on time and sometimes they developed cold feet when they see the police. If the medical evidence is destroyed, then successful prosecution becomes a problem.

Medical doctors need to provide medical report when victims report to the hospital within 24 hours. If victims get pregnant, or contract HIV, they can easily be given medication.”

It took two days for Kabiru to take his daughter’s case to the General Hospital, Billiri. Kabiru blamed the police prosecutor for not properly handling the case, thus leading to a light sentence for the culprit.

“The problem was from the police prosecutor,” he said. “He is the one who cheated us. We were told by the doctor to come back after two weeks to check, and after three months check her condition again. He did not inform the court what the doctor at the hospital told us. Why did he not inform the court? He should produce his reason because the case was hurriedly concluded.”

Jummai Zakka, a Gombe-based businesswoman whose nine-year-old niece was also allegedly raped by an undergraduate of the Gombe State University is in a similar situation.

Jummai said following the little girl’s claims that it was one Isaiah that raped her; she took him to the Gombe Police Division and while there called the suspect’s parents.

She said: “Isaiah’s father, who is a policeman, said there was no need of taking the girl to the hospital, that we could just take her to a nearby chemist. I said no; this is not a chemist issue. Look at how this girl is sitting down. Let’s just collect the report for doctors to just check her.

“They said no and were just delaying till around five in the evening until they accepted. But the police said we could not take her to the private hospital. I agreed to take her to the General Hospital, Gombe, but they said that I would not follow them. I asked why? I am supposed to follow my niece to the hospital. They refused. So I let them take her to the hospital. They left and came back around 12am, saying that there was no doctor.

“I insisted we should go to a private hospital, but they refused. Before they left around one in the morning, the boy’s father, the DPO and the IPO even opened her legs and the father saw blood. I never knew the implications of the father’s actions until the next day when some people were explaining it to me.

“The next day, the blood was not there again. But the DPO saw the blood, the IPO saw the blood, the father saw the blood and I saw the blood and so many people saw the blood. We went to the hospital and they advised that she should not take her bath till they examine her.

The blood was not there again. “At the hospital, one doctor just called Isaiah and they went to his office. That means they saw a doctor the previous night. The doctor wrote that she was not a virgin and that he didn’t see blood but that they had tampered with the place.”

Jummai approached the Gombe State Ministry of Justice with the case and a lawyer was assigned to handle her case. But she is worried that the defendant’s lawyers and the father of the suspect were bringing all sorts of barriers.

They said that my niece who is just nine has been having sex; that I am a bad girl, a gold-digger. They didn’t even take us to the CID before taking us to court. The father is justmanipulating the case. He found my mother’s number and called her.

“My mother called me and advised me to forget about the case and settle out of court, that they asked what we have spent. I told them I had spent up to N30, 000. My mother said we should just collect N100,000. I said no; they will think we are looking for money.

“But I am willing to press the case until there is justice for this small girl. The boy is still denying it and the father is insulting me, saying that I want to make money so I asked the girl to lie. I was surprised to hear all these abuses. The case will be taken to the tribunal because she is a small girl.”

While Jummai has the courage to pursue the alleged rape of her niece, many victims are afraid to report. Some others would make a report but would suddenly want the case withdrawn.

For instance, parents of a 12-year-old girl allegedly raped by one Mohammed Danjuma and those of another girl of similar age raped by one Lagos Jagamin in Cham Local Government area suddenly lost interest in pursuing justice.

“Jagamin, a close family, allegedly took advantage of his victim, a 12-year-old mentally retarded girl by raping her. He is now on the run while investigation is underway,” said Birma, who informed the reporter that Jagami’s case was reported to the CPN.

To address the problem, Lucy disclosed that centres have been established in hospitals across the state for victims who report rape cases to get prompt attention.

Sadly, the victims of rape in Gombe State like are unlikely to get justice because of several factors that come to bear in the cause of investigation and prosecution.

A lawyer, who claimed anonymity, explained some of the factors. He told the reporter: “When cases of rape come to us, we normally do follow ups because they don’t report to us directly. There is so much frustration of our cases by the police and counsels to the defendants.”

Investigation and prosecution are stalled, thereby preventing justice because victims and their families do not report cases on time.

“Cultural barriers such as stigma keep victims from coming forward. Even if the victim is a grandmother, there is no reason why she should be raped,” opined Justice Halima Mohammed of the National Association of Women Judges in Nigeria.

Mohammed said when victims of rape do come forward, “they often encounter procedural and evidential barriers to accessing justice.

Therefore the second issue relates to steps that courts might take to make the process less daunting and more victim-friendly.”

However, if the investigations into what happens when a rape case gets to the courts in Gombe are anything to go by, then it will be easier for the camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for the victims of rape in Gombe to get justice and for those found guilty of rape to get adequate jail terms in accordance with the law.

The police are usually the first port because they have the responsibility to investigate reported cases of rape. They can prosecute the case because rape is a serious offence.

The punishment for rape as spelt out in Section 358 of the Criminal Code is life imprisonment, while an attempt to commit rape attracts 14 years imprisonment.

The coordinator of Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) in the state, Mrs. Jummai Dogo, observed that the non-domestication of the Child Rights Act by the state House of

Assembly has been a setback in the protection of children from rape. Even as the Violence Against person’s bills has not received support, Gombe State has no law on violence against women. While lawyers working with the Ministry of Justice are often given cases of rape in a bid to get justice for victims, as private lawyers are too expensive, nothing worthwhile often comes out of them.

“There are so much frustration of our cases by the police and the defendants’ counsels,” a female lawyer who pleaded anonymity revealed. “Here in Gombe, it is a man’s world and once a woman is raped, they will frustrate the case and nothing will come out of it. Women are at the receiving end. Women are poor. In Gombe, if the case involves highly placed persons, it will be difficult to prove or win,” the legal counsel from FIDA explains to Daily Sun.

For defending the cause of women, a lawyer who also pleaded anonymity disclosed that some female lawyers are being seen as enemies by some men in the state.

“We in FIDA are being abused by the men for doing our jobs of defending women and girls who fall victims of rape every day. To the men here, women are to be seen and not heard. Recently, one man broke my windscreen with an axe. I was able to escape.”

While cases of rape are becoming rampant, investigation revealed that Gombe State has laws to protect victims and ensure that perpetrators are put behind bars. Issues of rape, which affects girls and women, are relegated to the background as campaign for elective offices take centre stage in Gombe State. In order to address the menace, some have suggested that there should be more awareness campaign on the danger of keeping silent.

Medical doctors and the police should endeavour to give enough evidences for prosecution and to ensure conviction of suspects.

A Gombe-based medical practitioner, Barrister Caleb Ubale, said because of the damaging effects of rape, suspects are not entitled to bail and if found guilty, they could face life imprisonment.

Ubale also re-echoed the viewpoint that parents of the rape victims are not helping matters by being reluctant to allow the cases to be taken to court.

“The law enforcement agencies should not allow rape cases to die prematurely, even if the victims’ parents wanted it so,” he said.

Efforts to meet with the Gombe State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice failed. Several visits were made to his office, but on each occasion, he was said to be out of the office. He also failed to return calls made to his phone. He did not respond to an official letter for an interview.

An insider who pleaded anonymity lamented that government officials in Gombe were mainly interested in returning to office for another tenure, and thus, issues like rape were considered inconsequential.

This article was first published in The Sun on Thursday, February 12,2015