RAPE IN A MOSQUE: MUSLIM GROUP, AL-MUMINAAT CONDEMNS DEVILISH ACT, WANT JUSTICE

Al-Muminaat Social Advocacy Project (SAP) has condemned in very strong terms the sexual assault of a woman in Oyo State. The organisation learnt that a veiled woman was raped by the son of a transport union worker in Ibadan, Oyo State on Sunday, January 29, 2023 in a mosque.

The organisation is shocked that a crime of such magnitude could be committed against a woman going about her lawful activities. The Coordinator Mrs. Sherifah Yusuf-Ajibade notes that the crime “is heart wrenching and demeaning. We demand that the rapist be arrested immediately, remanded and prosecuted accordingly. He must be made to get the full wrath of the law”.

SAP called on human rights activists and well-meaning Nigerians to follow this issue to ensure that it is not swept under the carpet because of the criminal’s father. “We need to ensure that the culprit is made to feel the full wrath of the law so that others like him are not emboldened to violate women without consequence”

Nigerian women will be disempowered if they are scared of leaving their homes, as this horrible crime has shown that Nigerian women are not safe anywhere; in their homes, their educational and business environments and even in places of worship. It will be as though they are living in an open prison.

The violation of this Muslim woman is a crime against all women and all those who believe in protecting the rights of women. Coming together to help us secure justice for this veiled woman is coming together to help protect all Nigerian women.

We therefore call on the State Government to use its resources to secure justice for this woman so that miscreants and criminals will know that they will not be tolerated in Oyo State. The government agencies responsible for providing medical and psychological support for rape survivors should provide free care for this woman so that finances do not prevent her from getting all the help that she requires.

Sherifah Yusuf-Ajibade,
Coordinator, Social Advocacy Project (SAP)
08033213728