“Evil originates not in the absence of guilt; but in our effort to escape it,” said
Shannon L. Alder. Reasons being that if caught, the image of ‘the Scapegoat’ will seem eternally etched in the back of everyone’s mind incomprehensively. And even at that, it is said that, the search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.
Ekiti State Government has publicly shamed two convicted sex offenders in its renewed onslaught against rape and other sexual offences to serve as deterrence to others. It pasted the photographs of the two convicted sex offenders, Basiru Adeyanju and Abiodun Olusola, in public places in the state and as well on various online platforms for the crimes they committed which earned them prison sentences. They are the third and fourth convicted sex offenders publicly shamed through publishing of names and photographs.
A public notice released by the state Ministry of Justice on the 16th of April stated that “the two had been registered in the ministry’s sex offenders’ register and as well published on all social media platforms of the ministry”. A statement from the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olawale Fapohunda, read, “The step was in furtherance of the zero tolerance policy of the Fayemi administration to violence against women and children. The action is aimed at discouraging sexual violence against women and minors which has reached alarming rate in the state”
Adeyanju, formerly of Irona Street, Ado Ekiti, was convicted and currently serving a 14-year prison term at the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Ado Ekiti for the attempted rape of a 17-year-old girl. Abiodun, on the other hand, formerly of Ijero Ekiti, is also currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in the same facility for the rape of a 61-year-old woman. Recall that a former Anglican priest, Gabriel Asateru, and who were both convicted for raping minors, were earlier publicly shamed. The Ekiti State Sex Offenders Register was opened in 2013 while the public shaming started in 2019.
