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The wife of the Niger State governor, Hajiya Jummai Babangida, who paid Etteh a courtesy call, raised an alarm over the increasing cases of rape in the country.
She expressed that the crime, which in most cases involved girls between the ages of 9 and 12, had assumed a frightening dimension with about 20 cases being charged to court between 2006 and 2007 in Suleja town alone.
What makes the issue of rape in Suleja recently to become worrisome and alarming is the nature of the age group involved which are children between the ages of 9 and 12 years, and also the frequency of the occurrence," she said.
The governor's wife added: "We are aware that about 20 cases of rape were charged to court in Suleja town between the years 2006 and 2007, and out of this number, only two of them are currently on trial at the High Court.
We also know that for the past few months, about five to seven cases of rape are being reported to the police on weekly basis in the town. Only on Tuesday, as we were preparing for this meeting, we were told that two cases were recorded again.That really intensified our fear."
Mrs. Babangida accused the police in Suleja of not treating the cases well, saying: "Most of the cases taken to the police are not being charged to court and in most cases, the matter is struck out by the police for what they described as lack of merit or evidence."
She said there were some other cases that were not made public because of the resultant stigma, adding that the last of such case of rape involved a 10-year-old girl and a 45-year-old man.
"The latest and most practical of such menace happened on July 9, 2007 when a 45-year-old man raped a girl of 10 years who is a primary three pupil. Right now, the girl is still in physical pain as a result of the injury because the parents and the culprit cannot afford to pay for the treatment, thereby putting the life and future of the girl in double jeopardy," she said.
She called on the Speaker to take serious measures against the menace, using the power of parliament, saying that if not checked, the entire country would be endangered.
Responding, Etteh who was overwhelmed by emotion condemned the action and vowed that the law on rape in the country would be revisited immediately so as to make it stiffer.
According to her, the House of Representatives will ensure that state Houses of Assembly concur with the National Assembly on the law.
Her words: "For a 45-year-old man to rape a girl of 10 years is a terrible thing. We will revisit the issue and look at our laws.
We will pass a law on the matter and ensure that all state Houses of Assembly give it the concurrence that it deserves. We will amend the law. This is a new parliament and we will amend the Act. We all have mothers and daughters and it can happen to anybody."
And when the victim, who found it difficult to walk, was brought before the Speaker, she and her deputy burst into tears and for about five minutes, they sobbed. Etteh's aides had to bring her tissue papers to wipe her face.
It was in this state that she went into her inner office only motioning to her visitors to join her there. The Deputy Speaker, Nguroje, was later able to control himself but kept sympathizing with the girl.
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