Thus far, a total of 73 cases of child molestation have been recorded in Oyo State, this year.
Sixty-two out of the 73 cases have been charged to court, with 83 suspects being prosecuted, while the remaining 11 are under investigation.
State Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat made this disclosure while speaking with journalists after a meeting with the wife of the Oyo State Governor, Mrs Tamunominini Makinde, at the office of the wife of Oyo State Governor, Ibadan, on Thursday, as part of events marking 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
Whether those behind molestation are parents or relatives, neighbours, Hamzat said the police treated cases of child molestation as criminal matters.
Hamzat vowed that the police command would not sweep under the carpet cases of child molestation, and would ensure justice for the survivors or victims.
He, however, enjoined parents to more circumspect and effectively safeguard their children, wards against predators.
Hamzat said: “We have got a lot of cases especially molestation of children by relatives. We have about 73 cases we have recorded this year and we have sent about 62 cases to court, they are still being prosecuted. 11 are under investigation.
“For the 62 cases sent to court, we have 83 suspects, they are also standing trial. In Oyo State, any case of child molestation be it by the father, brother, shall never be swept under the carpet. We shall attend to it the way it should be attended to as criminal matters, and we shall pursue it to the last, that justice is delivered to the survivors or victims if they die.
“The era where you think being members of family you can do anything unlawful and go has gone.
“No family connection whatsoever shades you; if you commit anything gender-based violence whether to your child, relation, the law will take its cause. The police will never allow such a case to be swept under the carpet. If you commit crime, the law will take its course and you shall face the full wrath of the law.”
Addressing some of the GBV survivors, wife of the Oyo governor, Tamunominini Makinde said victims of GBV must speak up and report to appropriate authorities so that the perpetrators do not go unpunished.
She stressed that the fight against GBV required the involvement of all and sundry in the society.
While committing to providing financial support for survivors of GBV, she donated a cash of N100,000 each to 10 survivors of GBV ranging between the ages of three and 23, brought to her office.
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