“Death Penalty, Castration, Not Enough To Stop Rape” – ASUU President

The National President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi has said that death penalty and castration cannot end rape in the country.

He believes poor governance is responsible for rape cases. He made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN , in Ota, Ogun on Sunday.

According to him, the death sentences and other punishments imposed on armed robbers by Federal Government had not yielded desirable result or end armed robbery in the country.

He attributed cases of rape to poor governance. He described rape as a form of pervasion and abnormal way of behaving caused by psychological dislocation or mental problem exhibited by the rapist.

Ogunyemi said that imposing death sentence and castration on rapists, was just like going to an extreme without addressing root causes of the problem.

He suggested that rape offenders should be given life sentence rather than death sentence, stating that the offender could end up becoming an advocate against rape after undergoing reforms in the prison.

“The country has to balance the two by looking on how best we can reform and how best the nation can create the environment to minimise the manifestation of this prevalent.

“How do we create an environment where people will express their frustration on people by oppressing the innocent girls or women in the society

“The people will be able to rediscover their lives in the prison through proper guidance in term of reorientation and reeducation.

“Through this process, the country can reclaim a sizable number of people that are sexually pervasive. “

Furthermore, he urged the federal government to grant free education and health care services to Nigerians to enable them pay more attention in bringing up their children as well as reduce pressure on family units. He believes this would help to reduce the recurrence of rape in the country.