No justification for rape – Ebonyi commissioner’s aide

Media Aide to Ebonyi state Commissioner for Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Chief Oluchukwu Ukie Ezeali (P. Noble), Hon. Ogbonnia Nwachi, has labelled as “ignorant, insensitivity and high level of wickedness” the assertion of many Nigerians that women were raped because of  “indecent dressing”, saying that there should never be any justification for rape.

In a statement he signed and made available to Blueprint in Abuja Sunday, Nwachi frowned at the rape cases recorded on daily basis and questioned whether seven-month-old babies raped by their fathers and 85-year-old grandmothers raped by teenagers can be said to have dressed indecently.

He said: “Why would any sane mind justify rape, when our female folks; be they infants, teenagers, adolescents, adults, even septuagenarians, octogenarians and nonagenarians are proven victims? In their desperation, I have read on social media some people condemning rape (which is commendable) and at the same time they condemn ‘indecent dressing’ among our ladies as a contributory factor to the recurrence of rape cases in our society. This balance of judgement is puerile and nonsensical.

“For such writers, female dresses that showcase our ladies’ sexy features, as they situate in their appropriate places and obscenely reveal their voluptuous curves, crevices and contours, trigger abnormal flow of blood from its source to the male genitals; thereby stirring their libidos: the aftermath being the perpetration of rape. That’s the height of ignorance.

“If all of us pounced on ladies, because of the way they dress, rape would have since become a culture, because every man would have been into it. Are the rapists the only men seeing these ladies in skimpy clothes? Are they the only ones whose blood flow, like the river Nile, on seeing curvaceous babes? Are they the only ones whose libido quickly respond to external stimuli and act at feverish decibels on sighting these ladies? Don’t the rest of us have eyes too? Arrant nonsense!

“A 38 year old man recently raped his seven months old daughter…was this seven month old baby dressed like Beyonce? Besides that, imagine a father, raping his own daughter. Come on, this is full-fledged madness for real.”

He added: “Again, I read of a 25 year old man raping a septuagenarian of 75 years old and other men in the same age bracket raping an octogenarian of 85 years old and a nonagenarian of 90 years old. Now, tell me what type of seductive dressing will make any sane man want to even have sex with these great grandmothers? I want to know.

“More so, there are female lunatics walking our streets stark naked. Does it mean that these rapists are not seeing them? How come they are not raping them? Or are they raping them with impunity? If the lustful exhibition of female sex features encourages rape, as some men argue, these lunatics, littering our streets with their nudity, ought to be the ones that should be thoroughly raped because they bear no single “lockdown” on their bare frame. Are they equally being raped? I want to know. 

“What will make a human being or group of human beings rape a girl who had gone to read in a church; a house of God for that matter and murder her thereafter? Was she cat-walking about, swinging her hips in seductive fashion? When we see madness on display, let’s always be bold to call a spade; a spade. Rape has no justification. 

“We must strengthen our legal system to get rid of lacunae in the legal process and deal ruthlessly with these mad men in our society to serve as deterrent to others. Our ladies too must summon the courage to speak up whenever they are molested by these same mad men. The fear of stigmatisation should be jettisoned and all rapists reported to the appropriate quarters for appropriate actions. If suspects plead not being of sound mind due to hard drug intakes, it should be double jeopardy for them as the law knows what to do.”

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