GBV: Ekiti shames another convicted sex offender

In response to the frequency of reported cases of Gender-Based Violence and sexual abuse, the Ekiti State Government has published the name and photograph of Ajewole Filani, another convicted sex offender in the State.

Recall that prior to this, the Ekiti state government published the name of Ajibade David, a resident of the state, in its sex offenders register.

David was said to have been convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl and is currently serving a 10-year jail term in prison.

In a statement made available on the official Twitter page of Ekiti State Government on Friday, the Ministry of Justice under the leadership of Attorney General Wale Fapohunda released a Public Notice on the status of Ajewole Dada Filani, a former resident in Ikere-Ekiti who was convicted for the rape of a 23-year-old woman.

Mr Filani is currently serving life imprisonment at the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Ado Ekiti.

He has also been registered in the Ekiti State Ministry of Justice Sex Offenders Register.

This name and shame policy is part of the proactive measures deployed by the State Government to rid Ekiti State of all forms of violence against women and children.

The Ekiti Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Management Committee, which is chaired by First Lady Bisi Fayemi, is currently on an advocacy tour to engage key stakeholders in proactive ways to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation & sexual harassment, and to ensure the security of victims and access to justice.

Rising Number of Cases

The past couple of weeks was filled with horrendous tales of young girls being raped across the country.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the cases of Vera Omozuwa in Edo State and Barakat Bello in Oyo State, both of whom died from the assault.

The paper also reported how a 12-year-old girl in Ajah, Lagos, was raped by four masked men in her home.

These cases sparked outrage on social media platforms and the clamour for stiffer punishments from activists and concerned Nigerians.

In response to the rising number of reported cases of rape and sexual abuse in Nigeria, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, ordered the strengthening of Gender-Desk Units and the Juvenile Welfare Centres (JWCs) across the country.