Obaro of Kabba, HRM Oba Solomon Dele Owoniyi has called on traditional rulers in Nigeria to come together towards stopping the menace of rape in their various communities.
Oba Owoniyi made the call in Kabba on Friday at a one day Kogi West senatorial district stakeholders sensitization workshop on the upcoming public hearing on violence against persons prohibition (VAPP) bill which is been championed by the Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI) in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria.
The monarch, while lamenting that rape is alien to the culture of Kogi west and Nigeria at large, observed that despite numerous laws to address the issues of rapes, the implementation has continued to negate the success of the law in the country.
According to him, since he ascended the throne of his forefathers in 2018, no rape case has been reported in Kabba land.
While assuring the organization of quick passage of the bill, the monarch noted that any rape victim will surely get just in the land.
“I am a product of justice. That is why I am sitting on this throne as the Obaro of Kabba. God used Governor Yahaya Bello who fears God and want justice for his people to see that I am here today.
“It is against this backdrop I would say that justice shall always prevail in our land. I won’t tolerate any act of criminality in my community. This bill is very important to us. We are going to call our son, the Speaker to ensure that this bill gets quick passage in the Kogi State House of Assembly,” he said.
Earlier, the Executive Director of CPI, Eunice Abimbola Agbogun told the participants that VAPP bill had been passed by over 13 states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital.
She said the VAPP bill will make the society safe and free.
Agbogun pointed out that the objective of the program is to sensitize relevant stakeholders on the advocacy campaign for the adoption of VAPP bill in the state and solicit commitment to support the passage of the bill.
According to her, when the organization met with the 25 lawmakers in the Kogi State House of Assembly, earlier in the week, the House assured them of speedy passage of the bill.
“During this pandemic, we had reports of many gender based violence. Women are not safe, grandma and many more were raped, spouses sent out of their home, widows forced to drink water of their late husband body and many more. This does not speak well for our state Kogi and our nation Nigeria.
“Our girls and women are no longer safe. Women are being molested on daily basis. They can’t come out over fear of intimidation and stigmatization. This has to stop. Men, and children are not left out in violence. When their is a stringent law on ground, it will discourage any individual from perpetuating in this crime.
“That is why we are pushing for the passage of this bill. If the bill is passed by the Kogi State House of Assembly, we hope that it will be a law that who ever that is founding wanting in this unspeakable act of rape and other acts, will be penalised by the dictates of the law. This will serve as deterrent to others who intends to get themselves involved in this crime,” she said.
Similar stakeholders meeting were earlier in the week held in Kogi Central and Eastern part of the state.
Twenty three out of the 36 states of the federation are yet to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, five years after the Act was signed into law.
The VAPP Act is a law that guarantees protection of the rights of victims of all forms of sexual and gender-based violence in the country.
Fifteen out of these 23 states, representing 65 percent, are Northern states, six, representing 26 percent are in the Eastern region, while one is a South-western state, according to data collected by an organization called TechHer.
The states are; Sokoto,Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Niger, Nassarawa and Taraba.
Others are Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Delta, Imo, Abia, Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom.
Only 13 states including the FCT have domesticated the Act since it was enacted five years ago.
They are Kaduna, Plateau, FCT, Benue, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Cross River.
Signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on 2nd May 2015, the VAPP Act is the single law in place that transcends the criminal and penal code in guaranteeing justice and protecting the rights and properties of victims of sexual and gender-based violence across the country.
