House Laments Rising Spate of Sexual Molestation, Urges Malami to Prosecute Reported Cases

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The House of Representatives, yesterday, urged the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), to prosecute reported cases of child sexual molestation to serve as a deterrent to others.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson, at the plenary.

Moving the motion, Johnson made reference to a United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) survey, which stated that one out of four girls and one out of 10 boys in Nigeria are victims of sexual molestation and about one of 10 children would be sexually abused before attaining the age 18 years.

He warned about the danger of this ugly trend for the society and the future of Nigeria considering that victims of sexual molestation often end up as dysfunctional individuals, thus the future of the country is endangered if such criminal acts against children are left unchecked.

He said: “Worried that there has been an increase in reports of adults sexually abusing under-aged children, especially girls in Nigeria. Also worried that the lack of healthy protective parenting predisposes children to become perpetrators of the same vices, either now or in the future.”

Adopting the motion, the House mandated the Committee on Justice to ensure compliance and report back within six weeks for further legislative action.