Eguavoen Agatha N T
Ambrose alli university, Nigeria
Title: Rape; investigative process and the law: The Nigerian experience
Biography
Biography: Eguavoen Agatha N T
Abstract
Rarely a day passes without reports of women or minors raped across the country women and girls are raped everywhere at the slightest opportunity – at homes, with intimate partners, in university campuses, robbery sites, war situations, in their farm lands and even market places. It appears rape in Nigeria is more of norm than deviation. The incidence continues at an alarming rate, giving the impression that it’s a crime that goes unchecked and unsanctioned. Most importantly a reasonable percentage of the crime goes unreported because of the culture of silence based on stigmatization. Currently in Nigeria, rape appears to be gender specific to women and girl child only. As the law stands presently (Section 359-363 of the criminal code) it appears that only women are capable of being raped, but we know that men and young boys are also susceptible to this act. In this paper, attention is focused on the female sex because of the frightening increase of the incidence on women. We examined the investigative process which falls largely on police department who are constitutionally responsible for the investigation and collation of evidence for prosecution. We also examined the input of medical and forensic experts and how it affects prosecution. We commend the training of police officers in medical and forensic investigation, specialized legislation rather than reliance on the limited provisions of the criminal code and finally the establishment of female desk in all police unit for such offences, so that women can speak with confidence in confidence with their fellow women. A situation where a woman has to narrate her ordeal to man, intrudes into her privacy and creates a high level of inhibition in reporting such cases