Jigawa State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Bello Abdulkadir Fanini, has expressed deep concern over the growing impact of societal stigmatization on rape victims, which is significantly hampering the prosecution of sexual assault cases in the state.

Fanini's concerns come in the wake of several rape cases being struck out by the Jigawa State High Court due to victims' failure to appear and provide testimony, a situation he attributes directly to fear of social stigma.

Recent Court Dismissals

"In the last two weeks, three of our cases were struck out by the court, and the fourth one was discharged and acquitted. In all cases, the judges blamed the prosecution for not proving the cases beyond reasonable doubt," Fanini stated.

BenriNews reported that approximately four rape cases were recently dismissed based on provisions of Section 392(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL), following multiple adjournments without witness testimony from the prosecution.

One particularly troubling case involved a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly raped in 2022. While her parents initially filed a police report, they later refused to appear in court.

"They failed to show up to give evidence and testify; they said the lady got a suitor and they want to marry her, so they don't want anything that will tarnish her image and affect that marriage," Fanini explained.

Societal Problem

The Attorney General emphasized that this issue reflects deeper societal problems. "This problem is actually the problem of our society; it tells who we are. We don't accept victims of rape; we stigmatize them. The situation where parents are apprehensive that if she comes out to testify before court, she will be stigmatized and will not be married."

He warned that continued dismissal of cases due to witness non-appearance only emboldens perpetrators. "If these situations continue and courts continue to discharge the suspects, the society is helping in giving the suspects opportunity to continue with their crimes."

"I would like to call on our society to stop stigmatizing victims of violence against persons. It's an accident that happened. They need to be sympathized with."

Call for Action

Fanini called on all relevant stakeholders to advocate for an end to the stigmatization of victims and encourage them to testify in court. "Society must come together and rally around to stop the menace; otherwise, we are causing great harm to our society," he stated.

The Attorney General also revealed that the Ministry of Justice currently has over 300 pending cases where defendants cannot be located. In response to these challenges, a committee headed by the Chief Judge has been established to review the state's laws and their implementation, with the goal of ensuring speedier dispensation of justice.