The Minister of State FCT, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, has called for stiffer penalties against rapists to check the increasing cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence.

Mr Austine Elemue, Special Assistant on Media to the minister, in a statement on Sunday, said Aliyu made the call while presenting palliative items to the FCT National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) and other unions.

The minister also suggested that rapists should be castrated to serve as a deterrent to others.

Aliyu revealed that the FCT administration was working closely with security agencies and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) to push for serious institutional framework that would ensure justice is served.

She said the FCT administration would engage members of various communities in the battle against rape, especially of minors.

Aliyu, who described defilement of minors as a heinous crime, said that death penalty was not the best of option for offenders.

According to her, when a society chooses to kill such offenders, they die, not remembering the crime they have committed against humanity.

“We will involve every member of the community in this battle against rape.

“Just recently, we began a search for one offender and definitely we will nip it in the bud.

“In conjunction with all the security outfits and NAPTIP, we are on the watch, and for any offender that we get, we will take it to any length to ensure that he is not fit to live.

“We are also pushing for serious institutional framework that will ensure that justice is done.

“It is not enough to just jail such person, definitely punishment like castration will do.

“When we kill them, they die and not remembering anything.

“Therefore, they should be castrated and roam the streets and remain inactive,’’ Aliyu said.

The minister used the occasion to appeal to the leadership of NCWS to ensure that the palliative items get to the vulnerable.

She expressed optimism that in no distance time Nigeria would be free from COVID-19 pandemic.

Responding, the President of FCT Council of NCWS, Mrs Hadiza Umar, thanked the FCT administration for the kind gesture.

Umar assured that the items would be distributed among widows in the society.