Nigeria Launches The Sexual Offender Register To Tackle Abuse

Anti-sexual assault campaigners have lauded the launch of the first national sexual offenders register in Nigeria. With the recent increase in the reported cases of rape and sexual abuse in the country, the action is seen as a good step in tackling the issue.

The register will be a public document that will contain the names of individuals convicted of sexual offenses in the country since 2015. It will allow the police, schools, and hospitals to conduct effective background checks to sieve out sexual offenders.

Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking Persons (NAPTIP), will be responsible for managing the register, alongside 15 NGOs who will be updating the list with new reports. The register is mainly funded and supported by the EU.