Nigeria launched its first national sexual offenders register on Monday, setting up a database of those convicted for sexual violence in a move seen as an important step towards clamping down on abuse.
The “Sexual Offender Register” will contain the names of all those prosecuted for sexual violence in Africa’s most populous nation since 2015.
The “Sexual Offender Register” will contain the names of all those prosecuted for sexual violence in Africa’s most populous nation since 2015.
The record will be available online to better help the public, state bodies and police conduct background checks and identify repeat offenders.
Suspects who are cleared will also be recorded in a part of the register only available to law enforcement agencies, amid concerns by campaigners that the majority of sexual offenders escape prosecution due to failings in the justice system.
At the launch in the capital, Abuja, Nigeria minister for humanitarian affairs, Sadiya Farouq, praised the initiative. “The register will serve as a strategy to stop those engaged in violence against women,” she said.
