Khadijah Abdullahi-Iya, a former Vice Presidential candidate of the Alliance For New Nigeria (ANN), has condemned the 23 states in Nigeria that are yet to apply the VAPP law.
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) was passed into law since May, 2015, “yet it is quite shameful that 23 states in Nigeria are yet to domesticate this law even after five years.” She says.
“Does this mean that the Governors in these states do not care for the rights and lives of their citizens?” Mrs Abdullahi-Iya further asks.
She says, “By ignoring this act, many evil people would go on perpetrating wickedness and still go around scot free because there is no law in place to mete the right punishment for their crimes.
“This is shameful, an unfortunate situation that should be heard of, justice must be served and these laws need to be domesticated.
“We can not continue to be silent and watch inhumanity feast its dark claws on our people, Governors should be called to action. Enough is enough.” She added.
Recently, the Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC) of the Catholic Diocese of Akure, Ondo State, expressed concern over the spate of violence against women and girls in the state.
The JDPC Programme Officer, Catholic Diocese, Akure, Mr Austin Ogunleye, during a press conference to commemorate the 2020 16-Day of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, called for action from all stakeholders to put an end to the menace.
Ogunleye noted that Ondo State remained the only state in the South West region that has failed to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP).
He, however, said the JDPC has been working with other stakeholders to draft the VAPP Bill and presented the bill to the Executive, which did some modifications before transmitting it to the State House of Assembly.
According to him, the bill if passed into law, would make provisions for prohibition of violence against persons and also prescribe punishment for offenders.
He said the bill would become a document that would be used in the prosecution of perpetrators of various forms of violence while it would also take care of some issues concerning men.
He said the survey by the JPDC indicated that apart from physical violence, women also suffer from economic violence which ranges from lack of quality education, healthcare, amongst others to enhance their productivity.
The JPDC programme Officer, however, appealed to Ondo State House of Assembly, to give the bill a priority and enact the VAPP as a matter of urgency in order to provide protection for women and ensure punishment for perpetrators of gender-based violence in the state.
Also, the VAPP Act is yet to be domesticated in North East in spite of Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the Zone, according to a recent NAN’s Survey.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the survey indicates that only Bauchi State has domesticated the Act, leaving Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Jigawa and Gombe State behind.
