* Obnoxious sections in social media bill to go

SENATE President Bukola Saraki says convicted rapists would be made to face stiffer sanctions in the new laws to be enacted by the Eighth Assembly.

He also assured that any section of the now controversial "Social Media Bill" that is deemed obnoxious would be expunged before it is passed into law.

Saraki who spoke yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on Implementing Guidelines on Gender-based Violence and Young Persons in Nigeria, organized by Women Arise Network lamented that though cases of rape are rampant , only a few of the perpetrators pay the price for their inhuman action.

"Gender based violence is one of the most persistent human rights crimes in the world and one of the least prosecuted offences.

These rights violations pose serious consequence for us all and our future generation that have to be addressed. "We must decide as a nation that this must stop.

Truly, if we want change in our society, this is the kind of change that is even more important to us. That is why we must decide today to work closely to see that we bring to an end gender based violence. I want to assure you that in the Eighth Senate, we will play our own role in giving support to end gender based violence.

More importantly is to work to ensure the implementation of the laws the Senate Committee on Justice must take this as one of the areas of oversight so that in such cases , justice is prompt and firm.

It is also necessary for us to review some laws because there are cases that do deserve more than just five years jail term.

Cases of rape do deserve serious punishment", he said.

Saraki also cleared the air on the misconceptions making the rounds concerning the bill on frivolous petitions, saying: "There is no bill in the Senate that is called 'Anti-Media Bill'.