A human rights and good governance advocacy group – Make A Difference Initiative (MAD) has slammed Justice John Adeyeye of Ado Ekiti High Court for imposing a “ridiculously low jail term” on a man who raped his 9 and 13 years old daughters.
In a statement issued by MAD’s Executive Director, Lemmy Ughegbe and Director of Strategic Projects,
Augustine Eigbe, they said “the sentence made a mockery of concerted efforts by Civil Society Organisations (CSO), governments and the people to curtail rape and varying forms of sexual violence.
The statement noted that “at a time when Sex and Gender Based Violence have become a pandemic in Nigeria, we cannot fold our hands and close our mouth when a judge misdirects himself to exercise his discretion in favor of leniency for a despicable father who decided for years to exploit his little defenseless children sexually.”
“In fact, the decision of Justice John Adeyeye is tantamount to a clog in the wheel of our collective effort to combat sexual violence. He has trifled with a golden opportunity to deter potential sex predators from their evil acts”, the statement added.
MAD said it was ironical that in one breath Justice Adeyeye, held that having sexual intercourse with one’s daughter is something the society abhors and condemns, yet in another breath he decided to be lenient with the sex offender.
The initiative said “the sentiments of age of the convict used by the judge in imposing a five year jail term on him was “misplaced, ill informed and demonstrates the lack of understanding of the judge on the need to curb the sexual violence which has become rampant.”
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