What The Nigerian Law Enforcement Agencies, The Courts, Kaduna Government Needs To Know About Child Physical And Sexual Abuse: Yemi Awolola Matter

Source: Prof. John Egbeazien Oshodi
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Prof. John Egbeazien Oshodi

In the light of everyday national media reports of continued domestic and sexual violence, the life-threatening crime committed by the woman named Mrs. Yemi Awolola needs our attention given its uniqueness.

A story in the July 12th, 2020 of the Punch News Paper, is titled, “Kaduna deaconess who battered teenager to face prosecution after investigation — Police”

A follow up July 14, 2020 story on the same case in the Sahara Reporters online News, reads “Living Faith Church Deaconess Who Brutalised 14-year-old Girl With Hot Knife In Genital Area, Pleads Guilty, Remanded In Prison”

In the Sahara Reporters story, the offender has admitted her guilt but the presiding Court under Justice Bashir Yusuf Shittu, “said he was unable to convict Awolola because he “lacks jurisdiction” and that he was only taking cognisance of the offence”.

This type of temporary conclusion by the Judge remain marked with lack of clarity and uncertainty but while the world wait for this Judge or another Judge to sentence her the good news, is that Yemi Awolola is locked up until the case returns back to the Court for sentencing and during this period she is not able to prevail her violent body and cruel mind on another human, children especially.

In our today’s world, Nigeria remains one of the few nations whose multiple and conflicting laws on sexual assault and violence, in regards to protecting victims of sexual assault and related violence, and understanding the nature of high risk offenders remains too narrow. These laws realistically does not reflect contemporary changes in the society.

As the world wait for this case to return to Court, as part of the African psycho-social reality, which include begging sentiments, possible compromises and unreasonable misuse of time so that a case can disappear from the mind of the public, this very case will not undergo these drawbacks. Not this time.

It is also important to say categorically, that African nations like Nigeria, is not different on matters of human behaviors in regard to rape, sexual violence and child abuse as the facts about physical and sexual related crimes occurs on the human body, irrespective of culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, and nation.

Here is what Nigerians need to know about the likes of this domestic and sex offender, Yemi Awolola who reportedly has plead guilty.

As observed and heard on the attached video (http://saharareporters.com/2020/07/14/living-faith-church-deaconess-who-brutalised-14-year-old-girl-hot-knife-genital-area or https://saharareporters.com/videos/how-deaconess-brutalized-me-hot-knife-and-gas-lighter-my-genital-area-%E2%80%9414-year-old-victim), the child distinctly voiced the manner and ways by which this assaulter and abuser inserted , aggravated and injured her body.

Yemi Awolola, whose history of violence is not known as it is appears that this case is the only identified public case as at now.

This woman, like most female offenders usually physically assault and sexually abuse females more.

This woman like most sex offenders and physical assailants are dominant women by nature, and likes to abuse with direct physical force, are intimidating and terrifying in their ways when abusing victims.

Generally, physical and sex offenders like this woman has sometimes been victims as children or adults.

The likes of Yemi Awolola, usually commits a physical and sex related crime together with other dominant female and male-abusers which could include friends and family members.

These types of women when in marriage or have a live-in male partner are known to be less satisfied with their spouses and more-with their children, and more likely to be talking about aggressive and anger related matters.

Women offenders like Yemi Awolola are characterized by deep feelings of hostility, poor socialization, impulsiveness, non-empathy, and aggressiveness with no or slight anxiety.

Characters like this offender, generally use religion and professional cover while in their background they identify with feelings and thoughts of callousness, anger, fearlessness, hostility, vindictiveness, harmfulness, and secrecy.

Pedophiles like this woman expresses power and anger in often bizarre, ritualistic and sadistic manner which is consistent with the child’s report that she penetrated her vagina and buttocks with non-sexual objects such as a stick, hot knife, gas lighter and others, which serves as psychological functions of fantasy , happiness and tension release for the offender.

Child physical and sexual predators like Yemi Awolola usually get sexual sensation and arousal from seeing and hearing the vocalized pain and suffering of the victim during the attacks and torture.

A home like that of Yemi Awolola should be a safe place for the 14-year old girl especially having promised to care and train her, instead it became a home of nightmare, isolation, assault, confinement, falsehood, underfeeding, pain, blood stains, bruises, swellings, itching, and diseases for the child.

In regards to this unique case in Nigeria, where for the most part rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse laws are still narrowly and separately defined except for the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPPA), Yemi Awolola’s incident should be seen as a case, not only in the manner of a domestic child abuser but as a child rapist.

In a contemporary judicial environment as it relates to domestic and sexual violent cases like this one, a psychological (not a psychiatric) evaluation should have be done by now for the Courts, in order to help determine her deep psychological personality, level of at-risk adult-child relationship, and at risk community involvement especially when she is reportedly a church leader and a government official.

Her son who is reportedly a co-offender and a runner way, needs to be located for prosecution. If he is out there in the community, he remains a high risk, recidivist and dangerous since physical and sexual abusers are strikingly impulsive in terms of low self-control, poor self-regulation, or poor impulse control.

As earlier stated, this is not the time for institutional sentiments, whereby the offender’s family members, church members and close friends start to use every form of possible compromises, emotional pleas, threats, and calls for forgiveness or softer punishment.

Such approaches only help to perpetuate the danger of domestic, physical, emotional, and sexual violence in the society.

This child could benefit from long term psychological (not psychiatric) therapeutic, educational, and supportive interventions if she is to fully manage her history of traumatic childhood abuse and neglect.

Our Courts as it relates to a case like the one of Yemi Awolola, needs to be updated on the contemporary punishment, control, and treatment for child physical, emotional and sex offenders.

No judge should ever let a self-admitted or guilty child physical and sex offender go free or get a soft alternative sentence like paying a fine.

And this is not the time to blame the devil, juju, or “home trouble. The blame goes to the offender who in this case, fully presents as a wicked woman and a dangerous wrongdoer.

Like the progressive State of Lagos on a matter like this one, Kaduna State under Governor Nasir El-Rufai, his administration and family should develop a child investigative and protection agency which will enable needy children like this victim, avoid physical, verbal, or sexual harmful homes.

Violent offenders like this woman deserves incarceration and targeted psychological rehabilitation while in lock up, hopefully such therapy from a competent psychological clinician is available.

As part of public safety measures, upon release she should retire or resign from any public service job and be restrained in specific community settings.

After incarceration, she should also be maintaining a certain distance from schools, grounds, churches, etc. This not about “we don’t do it like this here oo” but about the children and society in the long run.

Prof John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D. is a Forensic/Clinical/Sex Offender Psychologist with over 25 years of psychological practice. His services involve sex offender evaluation for the Sexually Violent Person, Sexually Violent Predator, or Sexually Dangerous Person. Chief Clinician at the STOP IT RIGHT NOW, a specialized Online and community-based treatment program that is offered by the DR JOHN EGBEAZIEN OSHODI FOUNDATION (JEOF) a nonprofit Education and Psychological Forensic Behavioral organization. www.jeofpsychology.com. [email protected]

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