If Senator Florence Ita-Giwa were a judge, [child] rapists in Nigeria would be made to part with their genitals as punishment for their maleficence in order to totally eliminate the chances of them repeating the violent act, as opposed to simply serving a jail term. The former Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters made the comment at the fund raising exhibition for the Mirabel Centre, a sexual assault referral centre, held in Lagos where she was the special guest.
In Ita-Giwa’s words, cutting off the convict’s organ is the proper way to end the evil of rape in the society. And even though she no longer serves in the senate, she will seek ways to effect her suggestion in the country’s judicial system. Ita-Giwa’s statement came as a reaction to the accounts of two rape survivors attending the event.
On the surface, Ita-Giwa’s comment might appear irrational or extreme or both given the fact that society functions with laws and rights. But it certainly encapsulates the feelings of anger, pain, frustration, and resign that most people have to live with regarding the issue of rape in Nigeria. And behind her ‘bizarre’ call for castration lies a cry of pain that Nigerians should identify with.