Some Lagos-based lawyers on Wednesday decried the incessant cases of rape and other sexual offences in the country.
They urged that courts should impose the maximum punishment for the offender – life imprisonment – on convicted offenders.
They also call for incarceration as part of measures to curb the menace.
The lawyers made the suggestions in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a human rights activist, who works at the Justification Law Firm, Ikeja, governments, through the courts, should give the maximum punishment of life imprisonment to proven cases of rape.
“Bail as a policy should be refused in rape cases,” Opara urged.
He also said that awareness should be continually created to show that all sexual offences were crimes not only to an individual but against humanity.
The lawyer added that children should be taught the evils of rape.
“We need to get back to the roots, and everybody must be involved.
“It is good to teach the female child how to behave but we must not neglect to give orientation to the male child on the proper way to relate with the opposite sex.
“The male child must be made to understand that it is normal for a person to be ‘rejected’ and wrong to force himself on another person,” he said.
The rights campaigner added that teachers had roles to play in fighting rape, through sex education.
Mrs Nkechinyere Obi, who works at Ihuaku Chamber’s and Associates, Isolo, urged churches and other religious organisations to sensitise their members to the dangers of rape.
“Families should inculcate morals into their children – both girls and boys – for a better society.
“Above all, severe punishments, such as incarceration, should be given to offenders to deter others from indulging in such a crime,” Obi said.
In his contribution, Mr Chris Ayiyi, Principal Partner, Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, said that although rape offenders could be prosecuted and punished, parents had a duty to ensure that their daughters would dress decently.
He also advised that pornography sites should be restricted.
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“Government should place restrictions on porn sites or completely ban pornography; these pictures or videos corrupt the minds of younger ones.
“Most times human beings try to practise what they see even though it is not real,” Ayiyi said. (NAN)