Sola POPOOLA
The Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Dr Yemi Oyebanji and other stakeholders have vowed to lower the curve of the Gender-based Violence in the state .
They gave the commitment at the Special Plenary held for anti GBV by the House of Assembly as part of the 16 days of Activism.
The Ekiti First Lady who bemoaned the state’s poor record on GBV said no stone-would be left unturned in reversing the ugly trend.
Mrs Oyebanji therefore warned violators to shun the act by retracing their steps promising to launch a far reaching campaign against GBV initder to have a sanner society.
In her address ,the Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba expressed sadness over the prevalence of GBV inspite of the robust legislative and policy intervention.
The speaker hinted that the state would review the adequacy or otherwise of the of the legal instrument and other government policies on sexual and domestic violence.
“GBV is a crime against individuals, the society and humanity. We must all join hands together to stop it, we must all rise and work together to fight and end the rape epidemic in Ekiti State” the Speaker said .
The former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olawale Fapohunda,(SAN) ,In his paper presentation on: “Reflections on Strategies for Responding to GBV in Ekiti State: What have we done? What next?, , said there is need for immediate evaluation of adequacy of laws and administrative interventions.
Fapohunda, posited that ” the state need the wife of the governor to host a roundtable of all stakeholders to review all that has been done and agree on a 2-year plan of action”
He noted that many of the women public servants, some of the suffers serious domestic violence in their homes, calling on all to breakdown the hipocracy, we need honest conservation with each other to find the way out.
According to him, the state has zero tolerance policy for all GBV crimes, for rape and begging, among others.
He described Ekiti State has the one with the most progressives laws on GBV crimes in Nigeria.
“If a government that is not focus, we are not likely to make progress, both former Governor Kayode Fayemi and the Governor of the state, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, are continuing to lead by examples on GBV crimes”
In her contribution, on the role of judiciary, Hon. Justice Toyin Abodunde, urged clients to bring qualitative evidence to court inorder for the GBV cases not to be thrown out on the ground of technicalities.
Justice Abodunde, added that there is need to have Judges who are Gender based friendly, water tight laws to protect victims.
She called on all stakeholders to be Gender based friendly and protection of rights is also human rights.
Prof. Christopher Oluwadare, Chairman, CSOs, in Ekiti State, urged the state to criminalized the fight against FGM, and bring offenders to book.
Other stakeholders presented their views at the session such as CSOs, CAN, lawmakers, among others.