Stakeholders have again pushed for the establishment of special courts for Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) cases in Nigeria.
The programme is supported by Actionaid, WoldiAfrica Nigeria, British Council and the Canadian government.
Participants at the high level stakeholder’s meeting christened ‘Moving Forward Actions Towards Establishment of Social Courts for SGBV cases in Nigeria’, were decision makers, political leaders, social reformers, justice advocates, professionals, NGOs, International development partners, human rights communities, ministry and departments and a host of others.
In her opening remarks at the event, the President/Founder Woldi Africa, Dr. Hauwa Evelyn Shekarau, disclosed that the meeting was intended to provide an opportunity to push for advocacy strategies to draw attention to the major challenges facing access to justice for the ordinary Nigerian women.
According to her, her organisation which berthed in 2019 has continued to advocate access to justice for women and girls with a view to promoting sustainable development and gender equality across Africa.
While also delivering his address, the Chief Judge of FCT High Court, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf, identified lack of coordination among key stakeholders, legal frameworks and discriminatory culture as having hampered government and Civil Society efforts to address the menace.
“This event present a unique opportunity for different players, including government agencies, and NGOs to build understanding on issues of violence and undertake activities to combat them,” Yusuf noted.
While pledging the support of his court towards the success of the initiative, Justice Yusuf further charged key justice institution and prosecutorial agencies to key into the project.
In a goodwill message, the First Lady of Niger State, Hajia Amina Abubakar Bello, assured that for the purpose of eradicating SGBV in Nigeria, First Ladies in the country were making concerted efforts to see that the Child Rights law is passed in all the 36 States of the federation.
“Committee were set up in respect of that and part of the recommendation is the setting up of special courts for SGBV victims,” Bello said.
The duo of Nkechi Ilochi-Omekedo, Manager, Women’s rights programme, Actionaid and Funke Oladipo, Director of Women Affairs, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs reiterated needs for advancing rights of women and girls in Nigeria.
“Our Women’s Rights unit is connecting and collaborating with over 100 women’s rights organizations in Bauchi, Cross-River, Enugu, Kebbi, Kwara and Lagos State towards ensuring that girls and women enjoy their rights and live a life of dignity,” Omokedo added.
