Priest becomes first casualty as Ekiti begins shaming of sex offenders

A former Anglican priest, Reverend Asateru Gabriel, who allegedly raped a seven-year-old girl, has become the first casualty of the newly introduced naming and shaming of sex offenders in Ekiti State.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekiti State, Barrister Olawale Fapohunda, had this year issued a statement on practical measures aimed at curbing sexual violence in the state.

Fapohunda said the state government was concerned about the frequency of reported cases of sexual violence, saying it had become necessary to put in place proactive measures to halt this trend.

One of the measures, he said, was public notification of the status of convicted sex offenders by showing their photographs on the Ekiti State Broadcasting Service and announcing their names on radio stations in the state.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the office of the AttorneyGeneral, Ministry of Justice, Ekiti State, “The Ministry of Justice has today begun the publication of the names and photographs of convicted sex offenders in the state.

“We are commencing with a Public Notice on the status of Rev Asateru Gabriel, a former Anglican priest who was convicted for the sexual abuse of a seven-year-old girl. Reverend Gabriel is currently serving a five-year-prison sentence in Federal Prisons, Ado Ekiti. This publication is in furtherance of the Fayemi administration’s zero tolerance policy for all forms of violence against women and children.”

Another measure to curb sexual violence in the state, as announced by Fapohunda, was pasting the photographs of convicted sex offenders in prominent public spaces in their communities and local government headquarters.