Ekiti State Government on Monday expressed determination to conduct psychiatric test on rapists; as well as publish their names and photographs on the Ministry of Justice’s website.
The state Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wale Fapounda, who disclosed this at a news conference in Ado Ekiti, said the government was out to curb rape and sexual offences in the state.
“As part of the efforts to tackle rapists and child abusers in Ekiti State, the government will henceforth conduct compulsory psychiatric test and publish the names and photographs of offenders on the website of the Ministry of Justice.
“The names of such offenders will also be announced on the state owned radio and television, while the monarch of the town the offender hails from will be alerted and their details obtained,’’ he said.
Fapohunda expressed worry that cases of rape had been on the increase in spite of the large number of convictions in the state.
He said Gov. Kayode Fayemi, was miffed by the increasing cases of sexual violence and that there was need for proactive action to address the situation.
The commissioner said the new measures put in place would support the aggressive prosecution and exclusion of offenders from governor’s prerogative of mercy that had already been adopted and put into operation.
“The additional measures put in place include pasting the photographs of convicted offenders in prominent public spaces in their communities and their local government headquarters.
“Government will also be issuing an advisory to the traditional rulers of the offenders’ communities on the status of the offender.
“We will upload the sex offenders’ photographs on the website of the Ministry of Justice
“We will also start showing photographs of sex offenders on television stations; as well as announce their names repeatedly on the state radio.’’
He also said any offender that the Director of Public Prosecution had issued a case to answer for the offence of child defilement would undergo a compulsory psychiatric test.
“This also includes persons already standing trial,’’ he said.
The commissioner stressed that the government would take necessary stringent actions that would deprive offenders of their rights to dignity.
Fapohunda said that the government had realised that conviction alone were not solving the problem and so had to take these measures.
He said public education and awareness would be stepped up to sensitise the people on the new measures.