The Nigeria Labour Congress [NLC] has called on the police to improve the capacity of their officers to deal with cases of rape and violence against women.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, made the call while condemning the current epidemic of rape, sexual violence and other forms of violence especially against the female gender in the country.

Wabba observed that the delay, compromise of evidence and unwillingness to prosecute rape offenders to the fullest extent of the law suggest a society that tolerates abuse and violence against women.

He noted,

“We are alarmed that our age-long culture of respect for women is being torn into shreds by criminals who believe that the female body is theirs to seize, ravish and devour at will without consequences.

“The recent rape and killing of Ms Uwaila Omozuwa, a 22-year old 100 level student of University of Benin, Edo State is a cruel addition to the long list of Nigerian women and girls who have had their body, privacy and their lives desecrated and destroyed by rapists.”

Citing a national survey sponsored by the United Nations women in 2014, the congress said one in four women in Nigeria had experienced violence during childhood, with about 70 per cent of the affected girls and women reporting that it happened more than once.

The statement read,

“Congress believes that it is high time the rape epidemic was uprooted in Nigeria. We also call on the National Assembly to expedite legislative action on some of the bills that are aimed at strengthening penalties for rape and increasing the protection of children, girls, women, the aged and other vulnerable persons.

“Furthermore, we call on the police to improve the capacity of their officers to deal with cases of rape.”

The organized labour also said it identified with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ anti-racism protests going on in different parts of the world, adding that it was horrified by the cruel murder of a black American, George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, United States.

“This is not the example we expect from the acclaimed bastion of democracy,” it stated.