AGF CHARGES STAKEHOLDERS TO PROMOTE RULE OF LAW, ENHANCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE TO PROSECUTE SGBV 03-10-23
By Sadiq Aminu The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi has charged all stakeholders in the 36 States of the Federation and international development partners to commit to the effective implementation of all policies, programmes and laws relating to Sexual and Gender Based Violence, SGBV.
Prince Fagbemi stated this in Abuja during an Engagement with States on Promoting Rule of Law and Enhancing Criminal Justice Pathway to Address Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Against Women and Girls.
Represented by the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, the AGF disclosed that the Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing the National Policy on Justice, 2017, to encapsulate SGBV matters and provide a sustainable framework for
addressing the problem.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Uju Ohanenye noted that the high level of engagement had become necessary in providing baseline perception on sexual and gender based violence in Nigeria.
Mrs Ohanenye disclosed that over 24,000 cases of various violence were reported across the 36 States and FCT; while over 900 fatal cases of violence against women and girls across the country had been reported.
She therefore called for the creation of mobile courts to prosecute those involved in female genital mutilation and other gender based offences in the country.
The Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, Simon Ridley, said the event was targeted to address gender based violence in Nigeria, promoting the rule of law and access to functioning of criminal Justice pathways to combat violence against women and girls.