Oyo State: Youths Protest Against Rape, Killing

Some youths under the Akinyele Youth Forum movement in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday demanded justice for victims who were raped and killed in the state. 

The protesters went around with placards with different inscriptions condemning rape and demanding punishment.

This protest comes after another 21-year-old victim identified as Grace was raped and killed in a church in Oyo State.

Some of the inscriptions on the placard read, ‘Stop rape and murder in our society; an injustice to one is an injustice to all’, demanded the arrest and prosecution of the killers of Barakat Bello, Azeezat Shomuyiwa and Grace Oshiagwu.

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Expressing the people's view on the incessant rape cases in the country, the President of the group, Caleb Adedokun said rapists and killers in the Akinyele Local Government Area of the state must be brought to book.

Adedokun said, “We demand urgent action on sexual violence against women, especially our teenage girls, who were raped to death by some unidentified rapists in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. Although sexual assault occurs worldwide, the spate of killings and rape of girls in the local government nowadays deserves the special and immediate attention of all stakeholders.

“It is worrisome and disturbing. While we are still mourning the loss of Barakat Bello, a student of the College of Agriculture in Ibadan, who was killed in her home on June 1, 2020, in the Akinyele Local Government Area, the gruesome death of Miss Ezeugo James, a student of the Oke Ogun Polytechnic, also happened.

“One begins to ask questions on the circumstances surrounding the rape. Was it for money ritual or was it for sexual pleasure? The reason is best known to the perpetrators. It is totally barbaric and it means that the local government is not safe for girls.

“What are the security operatives doing? What impact is our political representatives in the Akinyele Local Government making and what is the result of the intervention of the religious leaders? We call on the local government administration, the police and other stakeholders to ensure speedy investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.”

In agony, the Senior Pastor to grace's father, Kayode Isola, said, “Her father was rushed to the hospital. On Sunday at the hospital, he repeatedly asked after his daughter. Pastor Benson and I were together repairing roads in the neighborhood when the incident happened. The girl and her younger sister were at home. We learned that at a point, the younger sister went out.

“When she got back, she discovered that the door had been locked. We asked the elder brother to enter through the roof only to see her corpse.”

The President, Federation of Akinyele Students’ Unions, Olawale Oladoja, and a former Secretary-General, National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West Zone, Olanrewaju Oloja, also urged the new Commissioner of Police in the state, the state government and other stakeholders to step up their game in crime-fighting.