CJN, Muhammad, wants strict punishment for s3xual offenders

Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on Monday, denounced the rising number of s3xual assaults and other related crimes against women and children in the country, and urged for harsh punishments for perpetrators.

The CJN, speaking at the opening of a two-day capacity-building workshop for the National Association of Women Judges of Nigeria (NAWJN) called for strict implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAPP) Act, 2015, which he said provided a legislative and legal framework for the prevention of all forms of violence against vulnerable people.

He explained that the training was held to provide stakeholders in the justice system with the required skills to guarantee that existing laws are properly executed to achieve the goals for which they were enacted.

He said: “Similarly, for stakeholders in criminal justice to be brought up to speed in their appreciation and importance of the law made to stem the tide of violence against vulnerable members of the society.

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“As such, many laws, which include the VAPP Act, 2015, provides legislative and legal framework for the prevention of all forms of violence against vulnerable persons, expecially women and children, which I believe should be strictly applied in the course of your adjudicatory duties.

“This would help to curtail violence at the home front and indeed the larger society which is fast becoming a trend in the recent day Nigeria.

“Consequently, the theme for this year’s workshop: Inclusivity and Access to Justice: Sustaining Public Confidence in the Judiciary, could not have come at a better time than now in view of the prevalence of sexual offences and other related crimes against women and children in Nigeria.

“In this regard, this workshop is geared towards improvement in judicial response, access to justice and the sustenance of public confidence in the Judiciary. All these will further deepen our jurisprudence and engender speedy dispensation of justice.”

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