The Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has said that twenty-four thousand, seven hundred and twenty Gender Based Violence cases were reported in the 36 states and the FCT between September and October 3.
Kennedy-Ohanenye made this known on Tuesday while briefing newsmen on the incessant cases of reported Gender Based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and other harmful traditional practices in the country.
According to the minister, nine hundred and seventy-five cases were fatal while one thousand, five hundred and five have been closed either at the court, community level, family, religious, or traditional leaders, or by the survivors themselves due to fear and intimidation.
While decrying the increasing figures, the minister urged stakeholders to urgently contribute towards eliminating the menace, which has become worrisome and affects the lives of citizens, particularly women and children.
She stated that establishing mobile courts, especially in rural communities, will promote the rule of law, increase access to justice, and enhance the criminal justice pathway to address violence against women and girls.
She said, “If we don’t have rule of law, there is no way we can solve any of these problems.
“And if we have rule of law and it is being delayed and the prosecution is not rightly done by pushing these cases and using the few people as examples to bring an end to all these things, we can never get it right.
“And can we get rule of law without having mobile courts? If they could have a mobile court for traffic offenders, why can’t we have a mobile court to protect and preserve the lives of our babies, women, and the vulnerable?”
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