Taiwo Jimoh
The First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, yesterday, urged the Nigerian Police and the Judiciary to prosecute more sex offenders in the state.
Mrs. Abiodun said that this during the commissioning of the Family Support Unit (FSU) at Sango Police Area Commander Office. She said: “The fight against gender-based violence and rape is the responsibility of everyone in the state, including the Judiciary, Police, traditionalists and religious bodies.”
According to her, the FSU was a safe haven, where people, no matter their ages, experiencing any form of violence, could run to for help and speak up without fear. She noted that going to the FSU was the first step to recovery.
She mentioned that her husband, Governor Dapo Abiodun, had also inaugurated the Management Committee of Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, of which she is the chairperson. She argued enforcement was the key towards making laws and units to work.
She said: “When perpetrators of crime know that they will face the consequences of their actions, they’ll think twice before engaging in such acts. However, what happens if crime is not reported? What will become of the victims of domestic violence if they do not feel safe enough to speak up about what they are facing? It means that the offender will go scot-free, likely going to inflict violence on other victims. For many years, this has been the case in our country, but this year, things are changing, and the days of the lawbreakers are numbered.”
The First Lady said that she was excited with the inauguration of the FSU in the Area Command, adding, “As I said earlier in the year, a robust approach to information, education and communication on domestic violence were needed across our state. People need to, not only know that the FSU exists, but that they can come here to be safe.”
She added: “Informational programmes about the Unit should be extended to the entire community in Sango, Ota and its environs. People should be encouraged to come forward to make complaints. Also, survivors should not be made to face societal stigma just because a family member is being duly punished under the law for a crime they committed. “
The Sango-Ota Area Commander, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Monday Agbonika, the brain behind the creation of the FSU, said the unit couldn’t have come at a better time, than now that there were calls for police reforms.
He said: “The FSU Ota vision became possible and it would be traced to the period when the British Department for International Development (DFID), in their justice for all (J4A) Programme started a model police station project in 2011. The idea was to have designated police stations nationwide as models where activities would be tried, with a room for regular adjustment for gender based violence, which was what gave birth to the FSU.”
Agbonika mentioned that the FSU would be upgrade to the traditional Nigeria Police Juvenile Welfare center, where cases of juvenile offences such as missing children, sexual offences against minors would be handled.
He said: “Those who will be handling the cases are trained by the Honourable Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of the state, Mr. Gbolahan Adeniran. I want to appreciate the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu and the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Mr Edward Ajogun, for their fatherly roles over the success of the project. The facilities are equipped and the staff is trained to the best international standard.”
The Olota of Ota, Oba Abdulkabir Obalanlege, said: “It is because of the oppressive nature of men, that we see women as a weaker vessel, which is not supposed to be. We should always see them as our partners. In my palace, I always have cases of gender based violence brought before me on a daily basis. I want to appeal to all men and women, we all have a role to play in the reduction of cases of gender based violence in the society.”
Obalanlege added: “If women have a happy home and take good care of their children, the case of rape and gender based violence would reduce. The judiciary also has significant roles to play in prosecuting rape suspects. The police should also let the law takes its course in the fight against assaults on women and children.”
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