Ater Solomon-Mary speaks on the current issue on rape, "What Justice does Ụwa truly deserve?"

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What justice does Uwa truly deserves?

 By, Ater Solomon-Mary Vendaga. 

3rd June,2020

The social network community have stormed the four corners of Nigeria with a vexing protest demanding Justice for Uwa. Uwa is not the only victim of this man to man evil. We have had plethora of these cases with the crimes going always unabated. But this very one seemed to have drawn my attention to this evil. I totally condemn rape as a crime and pray the law to hold sway to the punishment attached to it as a deterrent!

I must at this point commend the efforts taking by the good people of Nigeria in addressing the issue.

But the big question I keep asking myself since the incident happened is *'what justice did Uwa truly deserves?' I know she deserves justice but which is the most befitting justice to offer her?* In my humble submissions Uwa like any other Nigerian girl deserves an all inclusive Justice. This Justice does not require any bookish description. It is rather an invention of some jurisprudential exercise. This justice cannot only come from the court system alone, it must emanate from all the societal ends. Uwa could be any Nigerian girl who might find herself today or tomorrow as a victim of this crime or is in imminent danger of being the victim of this heinous and diabolic act. I know that investigating and bringing the culprits to swim in the hot waters of the law is justice but this might not be enough. The best justice should address this issue now and prevent future ones. Hence,I attempt some descriptions of this Justice.

To the government the Justice that Uwa deserves is that you should strengthen your institutions that are crusading against,educating against, preventing the emergence of such evil actions and of course punishing the offenders as provided in the law.

The clerics owed her this Justice by instilling in their members good virtues that will destroy any thinking of such evil.

The Court would offer her this Justice by ensuring that the court processes are not compromised whenever she is constituted to determine such cases.

The parents owed her this Justice by ensuring that their children/ward are well brought up so that such thought might not even come their ways.

And finally we all owed her this Justice by shunning rape!

This is the true Justice that I think Uwa and any other victim of this heinous and diabolic act deserves.

*#JusticeforUwa

*Ater is thinking

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Ater Solomon-Mary Vendaga is an Essayist, social and political commentator and philosopher. He is currently a student of Law at the University of Abuja.