Skip to content 
Nigeria has launched its very first sex offender register aimed to name and shame those prosecuted for the abuse in order to deter potential offenders. The register is documentation of reported, tried or convicted cases of sexual violations and gender-based violence. Hence, it was unveiled by the Vice President of Nigeria Mr. Yemi Osinbajo.
The sex offender register is a project under the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). So it is sponsor by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) under the European Union. Furthermore, it is executed by the British Council in Nigeria, in collaboration with security agencies and civil society organisations across the country.
RELATED: SEXUAL VIOLENCE CASES RISE IN KENYA AMID VIRUS CURFEW
Therefore launch of the sex offender register coincided with the global celebration of the International Day for Eradication of Violence against Women celebrated November 25 every year. The celebration flags off a 16-day campaign calling for an end to gender-based violence.
This year’s theme; ‘Generation Equality Stands Against Rape’, calls for urgent action against rape and accountability for gender equality.
In an earlier interview, Priscilia Ankut, the Programme Manager explained that the register will name. And shame sex offenders in Nigeria by tracking and prosecuting them.
“The type of information of a convicted person that would be in the register include Bio-data, Biometric features, Addresses, BVN, DNA,” she said.
Currently, the sex offender register contains names of sex offenders in the country since the establishment of the Violence Against Person Prohibition Act (VAPP) in 2015. It will be available online for public consumption. Hence, to help state actors to conduct background checks on offenders’ new identifications.
Its publication is also to help non-state actors to better the campaign against sexual violations in the country.
