Judges recommend life jail for rapists

Some High Court Judges in the South-west, on Thursday, recommended life jail for any rapist found guilty in the court of law to serve as deterrent to others.

This was the submission of Honourable Justice (Mrs.) Aderonke Adekemi Aderemi of Oyo State High Court during a training workshop for stakeholders on violence against persons in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state capital.

The training which was the fourth batch of its series was organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), New initiative for Social Development (NISD) with the support from the British High Commission for the judges in Southwest.

Justice Aderemi stressed that the there is the urgent need to review upward, the punishment meant for whoever is found guilty of this “weighty” crime so as to stem the trend in the country.

“Penalty for rape is too mild, those found guilty of rape should face life sentence because it is when those sentences are more stringent that such incidences will reduce.

“We need to review our laws so as to give room for life sentence for such crime, in a bid to serve as deterrent to other culprits.”