161 Cases of GBV in Edo Courts - DPP

By Lucky Isibor

There are one hundred and sixty one cases bothering on Gender Based Violence (GBV) under going prosecution in various Courts in Edo State. 

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), in the Edo State Ministry of Justice, Kingsley Odabi made the disclosure at the First  Quarterly Town Hall Meeting/Stakeholders Dialogue, Experience Sharing, Learning on Reducing Gender Based Violence on Vulnerable Women/Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law; organised by Idia Renaissance and three other civil society groups on Thursday, 20 October in Benin City. 

Group photograph of participants at the meeting

The DPP who enlightened participants on the essence and operationalisation of the VAPP Law in Edo State, stated that the law was concieved to fill observed gaps in the provisions of the crimal code as some of them became obsolete over time.

According to Odabi, " Before the VAPP Law, we have the criminal code under which we prosecuted sundry offences that have to do with indignation as it relates to women, among which you have rape and all that. But the offences in the criminal code over time were becoming outdated or obsolete to deal with these category of offenders; so the need to have the VAPP Law now came which apart from making certain penalties higher, has also introduced other aspects of crime which hitherto were not existing under the crimal code."

Odabi said the Edo State Government has established a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) known as the Vivian Centre in Benin City to demonstrate it's readiness to reduce incidences of GBV to the barest minimum in the state. He urged victims of GBV to go to the police or any member of the State Gender Based Violence Management Committee headed by the Edo State First Lady, Her Excellency, Betsy Obaseki, assuring that there will be collaboration at the SARC, a one stop shop for handling cases of GBV comprising the police, nurses, doctors and social workers.

Speaking, the Central Administrator of Idia Renaissance, Moses Urowayino said Idia Renaissance is the team lead of the "Reducing Gender Based Violence (GBV) Against Women and Vulnerable Persons in Edo South Senatorial District" project, which he said is funded by the European Union under the Agents for Citizens Driven Transformation (EU-ACT) programme and implemented by four civil society organisations- Idia Renaissance, Christabel  Otueroro Foundation, Society for Awareness and Family Initiative (SAFI) and Smiles Africa Initiative.

While noting that it is no longer business as usual for perpetrators of GBV in Edo State, Urowayino thanked the Edo State government for making the state uncomfortable for promoters of violence adding that it is evident in the number of convictions in cases of GBV from January this year till date which he said is six and the over one hundred and sixty cases under prosecution in the various Courts in the state.

In his remarks, the Executive Director of Society for Awareness and Family Initiative (SAFI), Comrade Abraham Obode said the four organisations involved in the project have been carrying out enlightenment and sensitisation on the provisions of the Edo State Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law in twenty communities selected for the proteject, pointing out that about one thousand women have been sensitised to be abreast of the provisions of the VAPP Law and where to get assistance should the need arise.

According to Obode, "We have also been training women and girls in various skills, including tailoring hair dressing, catering and computer skills.

"Since we started this project we've been able to get feedback from the communities concerning the people that have these issues; people now know where to go. We are counselling some and making referrals for others", he said.

Representative of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Gloria Onome Ekoh (Esq) called on women and girls to avail themselves of FIDA's free legal services when they have been abused. 

"If you have a problem where a woman is being assulted, a child is raped, come to us, we at FIDA will handle the case free of charge, we don't collect money", Onome Ekoh said.

Participants at the stakeholders meeting were drawn from the twenty communities hosting the project, journalists, government officials and members of civil society organisations.