Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Executive Director, Knightingale Women Health Initiative, Mrs Lois Yerima on Wednesday, tasked parents, traditional and religious leaders on assisting in the prosecution of gender based violence offenders.
Yerima stated this in her address at a sensitization/ awareness presentation on Sexual and Gender Based Violence organized for Traditional rulers, Religious, and Security Agencies across Kaltungo/Shongom, Gombe State.
“Next to Gombe is Taraba with about 40% or so then you get others with 39, 35. There are those with even 2% but in the whole of Nigeria, Gombe State happens to be the highest with sexual and gender based violence. We all have a duty,” she said.
While urging the collective efforts of stakeholders in stemming the tide of gender based violence in the state she said, “Parents across all levels, what we have discovered is that when something like this happens they try to hide it, that my daughter’s name or my son’s name will be tarnished then they will hide it and nothing will be done about it.
“My people if we keep hiding it and nothing is done about it that is what will bring about the increase in this thing but when it is being reported and there is a penalty for it am sure it will reduce.
“Like I said we are making a move, we need your backing, we need your support so that together as a people we can achieve, we need violence prohibition law in Gombe State to bring an end to this menace. You and I are the ones to do it, we are the ones to advocate for it, we are the ones to support the move to actually get there and as stakeholders we advocate for strengthening of linkages to ensure that all SGBV cases in our communities are properly dealt with, just has you have said, if let say we are reporting this thing maybe locally we would have to developed a register were we can be tracking all this kind of things.”
According to Aminu Gajere, Secretary Child Coalition Committee, the challenge of combating gender based is all encompassing. He said, “The problem is not with the security agencies, the problem is not with the traditional institution, the problem is all of us.
“This is my 8 year of serving as the secretary of this child coalition, since when I was in service to the time I retired, I experienced a lot of things, many things, you will find out that a person is guilty of an offence, this person was caught, one issue must be raised; if they don’t relate it to religion, they will relate it to relation, or tribe.
“This thing is eating us seriously so are these kinds of things that we want to remove from our thoughts for us to purify our lives. Because this thing is not only children even the adults, its affects the adults too.”
On her part, ASC Adah Magomya, Officer in charge of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kaltungo Division said the corps has been given the mandate to arrest, detain, carry out investigation and institute legal process in a criminal offence.
She added that, “Rape is a criminal offence, in our office here in Kaltungo we have recorded substantial rape cases. I stand bold to say all the cases that came to us we did the needful, we have never compromised in any of the cases.”
Also speaking, Sadik Saleh, a representative of the Department of State Security Service, emphasized the need for youths to be trained based on cultural values, adding that dressing is a factor of rape.
“Most of the places around Kaltungo, you see girls walking almost naked, that is one of the causes of rape. This has also increased the rate of abortion based on our investigation there are a lot of cases and it is becoming complicated because traditional rulers, politicians come to say this is my brother that they should be released even if police collects their money the person that gives money is corrupt, ending rape and other gender based violence is a collective responsibility,” he said.
Among dignitaries present at the sensitization were overseer’s of Kaltungo and Shongom Local Government Areas, District Heads, religious leaders across the two LGA’s.