Suyi Ayodele, Author at Tribune Online

Out of 150 cases of rape and sexual assaults recorded in Edo State, only 20 conviction had been achieved, the state's Coordinator of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Team ( SGBV-RT), Barrister Charity Ebosele, has disclosed. Ebosele who disclosed this at a one-day sensitisation programme organised by the Edo State National Orientation Agency, NOA, on the topic 'Curbing of the Increasing Wave of Rape and Gender-Based Violence', called on men to stop all form of violence against women. While noting that forcefully having canal knowledge of a woman is a grievous offence, she, however, said that there were also cases of women sexually abusing men, but noted that this is not often reported. She added that at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Edo State Sexual Assault Referral Centre ( SARC), recorded high cases of rape and sexual violence, and appealed the public to report cases of rape and sexual violence to the Centre. "There is no day in the country that rape and sexual violence cases are not reported. Some victims also do not report cases because of how the society will look at them, but I say that the shame is on the perpetrators, not the victims," she noted. Meanwhile, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has warned that the use of hard drugs damage organs of the body, leading to depression and psychosis as well as early death. NDELA Public Relations Officer in the Edo State, Ofoyeju Mitchell, stated this in Benin on Friday while delivering a lecture on 'The National Action Against Drug Abuse: Trafficking and other Social Vices'. ALSO READ: Akande-Sadipe empowers 5000 constituents The narcotics officer said that in 2018, "an estimated 192 million people used Cannabis, making it the most used drug globally. In comparison, 58 million people used opioids in 2018, which accounted for 66 per cent of the estimated 167,000 deaths related to drug use disorder in 2017." He added that "bout 1.4 million drug users are living with HIV, 5.5 million with hepatitis C and 1.2 million are living with both hepatitis C and HIV". In her opening speech, the Edo State Director, NOA, Mrs Grace Ewere, said, "NOA in its quest to continuously inform the general public, and other relevant stakeholders organized this event to discuss and meaningful engage our people on issues, that are germane to healthy living and economic growth in the country." NIGERIAN TRIBUNE