An elder statesman, Ahmed Joda has tasked the police, judiciary and all stakeholders on the need to sit up in addressing the raising cases of rape in Adamawa State.
Joda made the call at a press briefing in ceremony to mark his 90th birthday in Yola.
Joda said the police and judiciary in particular needed to do more in arresting and prosecuting suspects to earn the confidence of the public.
Joda also tasked the state government to make good it promise to designate one of the High Courts to handle rape cases for speedy trial of rape.
“Rape is an offence that is abhorred by the society at large. The situation we have now is a pitiful one.
“I have followed a case of a five year old that was raped and abandoned..
“Neither Christianity nor Islam tolerates even adultery between consenting adults much less the defilement of minors as young as five; we should not tolerate that.
“I am sorry to mentioned that the police which is the first point of call for victims is not playing its role..it became worst when judiciary become complacent; a simple case that should take few weeks will be allow to go on for years,” Joda lamented.
Joda said dragging such case for long was a deliberate attempt to jettison justice.
The nonagenarian lauded Adamawa Coalition Against Rape (ACAR), a group of CSOs and Journalists fighting against the crime for their sustain effort against rape and assured them his support at all time.
The elder statesman also spoke on other crimes like insurgency, herdsmen/farmers conflict and kidnapping for ransom blaming their manifestation on collapsed of policing system.
A woman from Lelewarji ward of Yola South LGA who spoke at the occassion, Aisha Mohammed also lamented on what she described as poor handling of rape cases in the state and warned that something needed to be done urgently or else communities would resort to jungle justice on rapists.
