Author(s): YUSUF ALI SAN, FCIARB (UK&NIG)
MY DIGNITY, YOUR DIGNITY: ENDING
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE TOGETHER: BEING A KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY YUSUF ALI
SAN, FCIARB (UK&NIG) AT THE DIALOGUE ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE ORGANISED BY
HABIBA DANGANA (HADIS) FOUNDATION AT KWARA HOTEL ON 25TH NOVEMBER,
2021
INTRODUCTION
I wish to express my deep appreciation to the organisers of this
program, the executives and Members of the Habiba Dangana (Hadis) Foundation in
conjunction with the Ministry of women Affairs, for the time and effort that
has gone into putting this programme together and for giving me the honour and
inviting me to deliver the Keynote Address for this remarkable event. I
specifically commend the vision and idea behind the theme chosen to be
addressed as key, as was once said ‘we have to promote human
solidarity, avoid indifference, and play a part with society in the solution of
the problem of violence....’[1]
It
is also remarkable that this programme is put together on this date, 25th November, which is a
day that Women's rights activists have observed as a day against gender-based
violence since 1981.[2] It
has also been designated by the United Nations as the International Day for the
Elimination of Violence Against Women. The basis of the recognition of the day
is to raise awareness of the fact that women the world over, are subject to
rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence. Another aim of the day is
to highlight the scale and true nature of the issue which is often hidden.[3]
As
the duty of a keynote speaker is to set the tone of the event, I would like to
base my speech on the theme of this dialogue: MY DIGNITY, YOUR DIGNITY: ENDING GENDER BASED VIOLENCE TOGETHER.
The rising spate of violence against women, at least the fraction reported by
the media, indeed calls for serious concern and makes the topic an apt one. In
delivering this address, I will briefly look into the incidence of gender based
violence in Nigeria. The address will also do a brief discuss on the
legislations prohibiting violence against persons, the Violence Against Persons
(Prohibition) Law of Kwara State and how the law can be popularized to ensure
awareness by the citizens it was meant to protect. Recommendations are also
made on how to stem the growing tide of this menace.
WHAT IS GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
Gender-based
violence against women has been defined as “any act that results in, or is
likely to result in physical, sexual, or psychological harm. or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”[4]
Gender based violence can take any form like rape, female genital mutilation,
partner battery, stalking, harmful widowhood practices and all forms of
violence, including physical, verbal, sexual, psychological, domestic and
harmful traditional practices.
INCIDENCE OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE
In
the year 2020, females in Nigeria experienced a pandemic within a pandemic. Since
the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front
lines, have shown that all forms of violence against women and girls,
particularly domestic violence, has intensified. This is the Shadow Pandemic
was growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis. As COVID-19 cases continue to strain
health services and other essential services, violence against woman such as
domestic violence in shelters and welfare homes reached maximum capacity.[5]
In
Nigeria, the May 2020 UN brief revealed that reported domestic violence cases
in three states under total lockdown – Lagos, Ogun, and the Federal Capital
Territory (Abuja) – saw a 297% increase from 60 to 238 between March and April
2020.[6]
The murder of 22-year-old Vera Uwaila
Omozuwa, who was gang-raped and clubbed to death inside the Ikpoba Hill branch
of Redeemed Christian Church of God in Benin City, Edo State, in May 2020,
comes to mind as one of the first cases that hit the media during the COVID-19
lockdown. Around the same time, a 12-year-old girl was raped by a 57-year-old
man and 11 others in Jigawa State. Grace
Oshiagwu, Barakat Bello, and Azeezat
Somuyiwa were raped and gruesomely murdered in Ibadan. In April 2020, Iniobong Umoren, a graduate of the
University of Uyo, was allegedly raped and killed by Uduak Akpan, who, under
the guise of possible employment, lured her to her death in Akwa Ibom State. Favour Okechukwu, an 11-year-old girl,
was gang-raped to death in Ejigbo, Lagos state. A 70-year-old woman was raped
in Ogun state. In May 2021, a six-year-old girl was raped to death in Kaduna
state.
On
Tuesday, June 1, 2021, Olajide Omowumi
Blessing, a 300 level student of the University of Ilorin was sexually
assaulted and killed by rapists.[7]
Only this month, on 11th November, 2021, a female lecturer of the
University of Ilorin was beaten into a coma by a male student. There are
countless other incidents too numerous to mention. As a matter of fact, in June
2020, the Nigerian police said they had recorded 717 incidents of rape between
January and May 2020. In April 2020, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs Pauline Tallen said at least 3,600
cases of rape were recorded during the lockdown, while the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) received 11,200 reported cases of rape over the whole
of 2020.[8]
LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE TO GENDER
BASED VIOLENCE
The
Government passed Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) into law in
May, 2015. The Act was necessitated as a result of agitations for protection of
persons against different forms of violence which have in recent times become a
recurring decimal in Nigeria. Among other things, the Act has strengthened
advocacy against rape, Female Genital Mutilation, partner battery, stalking,
harmful widowhood practices by state actors while prohibiting all forms of
violence, including physical, sexual, psychological, domestic, harmful
traditional practices; discrimination against persons and to provide maximum
protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders.
The
VAPP Act provides a legal framework for the protection of all citizens –
including vulnerable people such as women, girls, children, youth, and persons
with disabilities (PWDs). The VAPP Act was first adopted and domesticated by
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in 2015. Since then, 18 out of the
36 states in Nigeria have domesticated it. The Act has been domesticated in the
following states, Abia,[9]
Akwa-Ibom,[10]
Anambra,[11]
Bauchi,[12]
Benue,[13]
Delta,[14]
Ebonyi[15],
Edo,[16]
Jigawa,[17]
Kaduna,[18]
Kwara,[19]
Nasarawa,[20]
Ogun,[21]
Ondo,[22]
Osun,[23]
and Oyo[24]
states.
In
2019, Ekiti State enacted its own law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
(SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR) and titled it the Ekiti State Gender-Based
Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019. The law repealed earlier laws on SGBV (like,
the Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law[25],
Ekiti State Female Circumcision (Prohibition) Law,[26]
and the Rights of Widows Law,[27]
in order to have a stronger legal framework like the VAPP Act. The Ekiti State
Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019 is a replica of the VAPP Act. While
Lagos State pioneered the enactment of the legislation for the protection of
victims of domestic violence in 2007 (through the Prohibition Against Domestic
Violence Law) and also made remarkable inventions in its Criminal Code of 2011,
presently, Lagos State seems to be behind in the fight against Sexual and
Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR). Lagos State has failed
to tune-up its legal framework for SGBV, even with the emergence of the very
innovative legislation (Violence Against Persons [Prohibition] Act, 2105) that
criminalized all forms of SGBV and HR, increased punishments and provided more
protection for victims in the Federal Capital Territory; Abuja. Lagos State does not have Violence Against
Persons [Prohibition] Law, its equivalent or any dedicated state law on Sexual
and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR). Rather, Lagos
State has laws with some provisions on SGBV (these provisions are contained in the
two major laws that cover some forms of SGBV and provide protection to victims
of domestic violence in Lagos State, viz: the Lagos State Criminal Code of 2011
and the Lagos State Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law of 2007 (PADVL)
earlier referred to.
Adamawa,
Bayelsa, Imo,Kebbi, Kogi, Plateau and Rivers States have had the Bill passed in
their respective legislative houses but are still awaiting the assent of their
Governors to make it ‘Law’ in the states. Borno, Cross-River, Gombe, Kano,
Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara States are yet to pass the law
at all in their respective States.[28]
Since
this dialogue is taking place within the jurisdiction of Kwara State, we will
be making extensive reference to the Law, as domesticated in the State. Below
is the highlight of some crucial provisions of the Violence Against Person
(Prohibition) Law of Kwara State.
RAPE
A
very notable and commendable provision of the Law is its expansion of the
meaning of rape and its prohibition thereof. While other existing laws limited
their scope of rape to protect only females in relation to vaginal penetration
without consent, the VAPP Law has taken a giant stride to expand the meaning
and scope of rape. By virtue of the Law, rape is when a person intentionally
penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with any
other part of his or her body or anything else without
consent, or where such consent is obtained by force or
means of threat or intimidation of
any kind or by fear of
harm or by means of
false and fraudulent representation as to the
nature of the act or the use of any substance or
additive capable of
taking away the will of such
person or in the case of a
married person by impersonating his or her spouse.
By this definition, both males and females are protected against rape. The
issue of rape being gender biased has been a jurisprudential issue in Nigeria
for a while because our law, as it then was, does not recognize situations
wherein a man would or could be raped.
The
Law also, in its progressive nature, took cognizance of the fact that sex now
goes beyond the primary sex organs and thus, extended the scope of rape to
include anus and mouth. This is because it was difficult in times past, to
bring an issue of forceful anal or oral sex under the umbrella of rape simply
because such incidences was not envisaged or accommodated by our laws.[29]
PROHIBITION
OF FEMALE CIRCUMCISION OR GENITAL MUTILATION
The
practice of circumcision and genital mutilation is now, by virtue of the
provision of the Law, an offence irrespective of the part of the country she
comes from. A Person who performs female circumcision or genital mutilation or
engages another to carry out such circumcision or mutilation commits an offence
and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 4 years or
to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.[30]
PROTECTION FROM EMOTIONAL VERBAL
AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE
It
is an offence under the Law for a person to cause emotional, verbal or
psychological abuse on another. If found guilty, the person will be liable to a
term of imprisonment not exceeding 1year or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00
or both.[31]
There are also specific provisions guarding against emotional abuse, for
example, the law prohibits anyone from forcefully isolating or separating
another person from his or her family and friends. It is an offence under the
Law, punishable by conviction, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years
or to a fine not exceeding N300,000.00 or both.[32]
Similarly, a person who intimidates another is guilty of an offence punishable
with 1 year imprisonment or a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.[33]
DOMESTIC
OFFENCES
i. Abandonment of children, spouse and other dependants without
means of sustenance
The
VAPP Law has now made it a crime to abandon one’s spouse, children and other
dependants without sustenance and anyone guilty of this will face charges of
imprisonment of not less than three years or a fine of not less than N500,000
or both.[34]
ii. Forceful ejection from home
Forceful
ejection by any marriage partner is also now prohibited. Consequently, any
partner who forcefully evicts his/her partner from his or her home or refuse
access commits an offence attracting imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to a
fine not exceeding N300,000.00 or both.[35]
iii. Spousal
Battery
A person who batters his or her spouse commits an offence and is
liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not
exceeding 3 years or to a
fine not exceeding N500,000.00 or both.[36]
iv. Incest Section 46 of VAPP Law, 2015 defines incest to mean “an
indecent act or an act which
causes penetration with a person who is,
to his or her knowledge, his/her daughter or son, granddaughter or son, sister or
brother, mother or father, niece or
nephew, aunt/uncle, grandmother or grand uncle” and goes further to
provide that any person who knowingly
and willfully have carnal knowledge of
another within the
prohibited degrees of consanguinity and
affinity contained in the Schedule to
the Law with or
without consent, commits incest
and is liable on conviction to a
minimum term of 10 years imprisonment without an
option of fine where sex was without consent, and
where the two parties consent to
commit incest, provided that the consent was not obtaibed by fraud
or threat,
5 years imprisonment without an
option of fine.[37]
PROHIBITION
OF HARMFUL WIDOWHOOD PRACTICES
Section
14 of the Law makes it an offence to subject a person to harmful widowhood
practices and in the same vein prescribes punishments for the offence.
APPLICATION FOR PROTECTION ORDER
The
Law in sections 30-40 provides extensively for protection order. Protection
order, according to section 46 of VAPP Law is
an official legal document, signed by
a Judge that restrains an individual or
State actors from further
abusive behaviour towards a victim. This provision of the
law is a very laudable one in that it curtails and mitigates, on the short
term, the abuse of persons especially in private spaces; it also shows that the
Law is both protective and preventive in its measures. Thus, a person who has
been a victim of violence, and in the risk of further violence, can apply for a
protection order to be issued against his/her violator(s). The protection order
is to be accompanied by a warrant for the arrest of the respondent and it
remains valid throughout the period of the protection order. Where
the respondent has contravened any
prohibition, condition, obligation or order
contained in a protection order, a complainant
may hand the warrant of arrest together
with an affidavit in the prescribed
form to any police officer who may proceed to arrest the respondent
if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that
the complainant
may suffer imminent harm.
ATTEMPT
AS AN OFFENCE
In
the Law, attempt to commit an offence is an offence in itself. The Law thus
provides for appropriate punishment for the attempt of commission of offences
under the Law.[38]
PROVISION
FOR SMOOTH OPERATION OF THE LAW
In
a bid to promote the judicious implementation of the Law, by the provision of
section 6 of the Law, it is an offence for any person to defraud or conceal an
offence or frustrate the investigation and prosecution of offenders under the
Law or any other enactment which is deemed a felony and is liable on conviction
to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding
N200,000.00 or both. Similarly, by section 7 of the Law, a person who willfully
makes false statement, whether oral or documentary in any judicial proceeding
under the Law with the aim of initiating investigation or criminal proceedings
under the Law against another person commits an offence and is liable on
conviction to a fine of N200,000.00 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12
months.
Where
a person has more than one conviction of sexual offence, been convicted of a
sexual offence accompanied with violence or been convicted of a sexual offence
against a child, the court may declare such a person a
dangerous sexual offender.[39]
EFFICACY OF THE VAPP LAW
Incidents
of Gender-Based Violence have continued to top the chart of discourse among
stakeholders, despite efforts by the government to check the threat.
The
enforcement of the law is really discouraging because many women and young
girls have lost their lives to the heinous acts perpetrated by criminals and
many continue to die, with cases either totally ignored or justice delayed
indefinitely. The sad part is that the perpetrators of these crimes usually go
scot free. The desk officer of the response team for sexual and gender-based
violence (SGBV), federal capital territory (FCT), Ngozi Ike, has disclosed that out of 444 SGBV cases reported in the
city, only one conviction has been secured.[40]
Adamawa recorded 774 cases of sexual and gender violence between 2020 and the
first half of 2021. Two-hundred-and-ninety-seven of the perpetrators have so
far been convicted.[41]
In April 2021, the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen revealed that only 11 out of over 3,000 cases of
SGBV reported in six states were prosecuted.[42]
According
to Project Alert, one of the reasons for these low conviction rates is the
challenge with the criminal justice system. They say the cost of pursuing
justice up until the level of conviction is very high. Victims’ families
usually have to pay for recharge cards used at Police Stations, Medical
Reports, and Transportation to arrest the suspect and so on. Since most of them
cannot afford these costs, they just give up all together and “leave it for
God.” They went on further to say that because many victims of sexual
violence suffer from intimidation and victimization from family and friends,
they hardly pursue the case. There was a particular case where a child was
molested by her father, and when the mother of the child wanted to report to
the Police, her in-laws (her husband’s relations) came to beg her. When she did
not listen to their pleas, threats followed, and the mother eventually had to
give up her pursuit of justice.
RECOMMENDATION
Gender
based violence is one of the heinous and abhorrent crimes in society and in
order to fight and eliminate violence against women as a social illness, the
following are recommended:
1.
There should be
proactive and stringent punishment enforcement for the offenders. It is not
just expedient to ensure maximum punishment, it is also imperative to enforce
this punishment in a very firm and decisive manner. The police authorities
should courageously investigate and recommend for prosecution the alleged
offenders. The judiciary should not shy away from handing out maximum
punishment, when the occasion demands, to sex offenders. This will serve as a
deterrent to other aberrant members of the public.
2.
The responsibility
to educate the members of the society, especially children, should not be shied
away from but be taken as serious and primary. Children should be taught to
develop a sense of ownership of their bodies. They should learn early enough
that they have a right to keep their bodies private and refuse any kind of
touch from another person. They should be taught to clearly differentiate from
safe and unsafe touch. Also, they should be discouraged from keeping bad
secrets that make them feel uncomfortable and should have a right to say no to
being alone with anyone, even relatives. Parents should encourage their
children to report any instance of abuse. Upon such a report, it should not be
swept under the carpet, but rather be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to
other offenders.
3.
The law
enforcement agents also need to be trained on the need to handle sex offences
differently because of its sensitive nature. This is because there seems to be
a general apathy on the part of the Police institution. Apart from the delay in
commencing investigation, the police institution is not adequately equipped
with both human and material resources to effectively investigate sex offences.
There is a lack of specialized training for police officers in handling these
cases or in providing support for the victims. Furthermore, forensic
identification of suspects cannot be effectively carried out, the use of
biological evidence such as blood, semen, saliva, vaginal epithelial cells etc
is totally lacking.
4.
Judges should
dispense justice without interference from the other arms of government and
efforts should be made to ensure that cases are resolved quickly. An
ineffective judiciary will promote child abuse despite the enactments of
several laws prohibiting it. The use of juvenile courts should be revived
especially to try juvenile sexual related offenders.
5.
There should be
increased public awareness on the laws addressing this issue, just as is
commendably being done on this auspicious occasion today. Laws put in place to
protect women and children in Nigeria are not effective because so many other
factors exist which inhibit their effective implementation. To ensure
effectiveness of these laws and to decrease the prevalence of gender-based
violence, issues such as poverty, cultural attitudes, corruption, lack of
implementation of laws, and attitude of citizens need to be addressed. Laws and
policies, despite their importance, cannot eliminate gender-based violence
solely on their own.
6.
There is the
urgent need for national moral rebirth. Leaders of religious groups should
mount vociferous preaching on the evil of moral degeneration which is one of
the causes of the resurgence of this sad prevalence of gender-based violence.
Sadly the more religious we pretend to be, the deeper we are sinking into the
malady of moral depravity. What an irony!!!!
7.
The press has
been doing much but need to do more. Until we get over the scourge of gender-based
violence, we cannot relent in our advocacy. Special columns in print media,
playlets on television and radio, moral awakening jingles, informed discussions
on the issue by those with requisite knowledge in the field should be
encouraged. The media should make conscious effort to downplay all negative
morally unwholesome events in both the print and electronic platforms. It is
time the government showed interest in the kind of movies and other video
materials that are being approved for consumption by the citizenry, especially
the underage ones. No serious society in the name of freedom allows her
underage members to access just any video materials without some measure of
control.
8.
It is strongly
suggested that apart from the punishments provided in the laws for convicted
offenders, anyone that is convicted must be made to undergo compulsory
psychiatric rehabilitation. This suggestion should be taken more seriously in
respect of anyone that is convicted of the offense of rape.
9.
There is urgent
need to have a look at the negative influence of the social media. There should
be stringent rules put in place to control the access of adolescent to the
social media. Unbridled exercise of freedom leads to social problems.
10. The
use of illicit drugs has compounded the problems of anti-social behavior among
the youth. There is the urgent need to do proper battle with drug addiction
starting from the family, schools, societies and the government.
Drug
addicts should be viewed as persons with problems that must be assisted not as
criminals as such.
The
society must play positive rules in the rehabilitation of persons with drug addiction
problems
11. The social stigmatization and ostracization of
victims of gender violence must be discouraged.
The fact that a young lady is improperly dressed can never be a reason
to condone an act of rape against her person. The society must insist on proper
dressing but non conformists should not
be damnified if they are unduly or
illegally assaulted by others
CONCLUSION
The
Female gender is important to a nation because they are the initial custodians
of the future of any nation and the leaders of tomorrow. The way they are
treated reflects the level of development of a particular country. Gender-based
violence has to be tackled quickly before its consequences become too difficult
to handle. I have tried to look into the meaning of a gender-based violence and
the incidence of gender-based violence in the country. The legislative response
to the issue was also discussed alongside the efficacy of the Violence Against
Persons (Prohibition) Law.
It
is apparent, from the discussion that if no drastic measure is taken to stem
the tide of violence against the female gender, and children, then our society
is in a precarious state. We must all rise and fight against this vice that is
threatening to destroy us as a society. We wake up every morning to the news of
girls and women being raped either by acquaintances or their fathers or bosses
or school teachers and mates. This must stop. It is in the light of the above
that I have proffered solutions in the form of recommendations to try and
address the way forward.
I
challenge us all, as patriotic citizens, to put in all it takes to protect our female
from this raging evil and secure their future as a country. The future belongs
to those that labour for it today.
The
organizers of this event, Habiba Dangana (Hadis) Foundation in conjunction with
the Ministry of Women Affairs, have done well in coming up with this discourse
at this critical time in the fight against the monster of gender-based violence,
in order to change our society for good. Once again I commend you.
Have
a wonderful fruitfully and impactful programme.
[1]
Shakira Mebarak, Colombian Singer/Songwriter , Philanthropist, UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador.
[2]
This date was selected to honour the Mirabal sisters, three political activists
from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960 by order of the
country’s ruler, Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).
[3]International
Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_for_the_Elimination_of_Violence_against_Women
[4] Russo,
Nancy & Pirlott, Angela. (2006). Gender‐Based Violence.
10.1196/annals.1385.024
[5]
‘The Shadow Pandemic’ https://www.un.org/en/observances/ending-violence-against-women-day
[6]
‘Tackling violence against women and girls in Oyo state, Nigeria’ June 11th,
2021 https://www.wfd.org/2021/06/11/tackling-violence-against-women-and-girls-in-oyo-state-nigeria/
[7]
‘Sexual Violence: CSOs demand 18 States to domesticate CRA, VAPP Acts’ Gabriel
Ewepu & Fortune Eromosele June 7, 2021 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/sexual-violence-csos-demand-18-states-to-domesticate-cra-vapp-acts/
[8]
‘Nigeria: Failure to tackle rape crisis emboldens perpetrators and silences
survivors’ November 17, 2021 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/11/nigeria-failure-to-tackle-rape-crisis-emboldens-perpetrators-and-silences-survivors/
[9] 1st
October, 2020
[10]
11th June, 2020
[11]
2017
[12]
2020
[13]
28th May, 2019
[14] 7th
October, 2020
[15] 5th
August, 2021
[16]
April, 2019
[17]
24th February, 2021
[18] 1st
December, 2018
[19]
24th September, 2020
[20]
28th January, 2021
[21]
2018
[22]
15th July, 2021
[23]
11th October, 2021
[24]
26th February, 2021
[25] No.
21 of 2011
[26] CAP.
E.13, 2002
[27] CAP.
R.6
[29] Section
1 (1 ) (2) (3) (4) of the VAPP Law 2020 provide for an extensive definition of
rape.
[30] Section
6 (1)-(4) VAPP Law 2020
[31]
See section 13 of the VAPP Law 2020.
[32]
See Section 12 of the VAPP Law 2020.
[33]
See Section 17 of the VAPP Law 2020.
[34] Section
15 VAPP Law, 2020
[35] Section
8 of VAPP Law, 2020.
[36]
Section 18 of the VAPP Law 2020
[37] Section
23 of VAPP Law, 2020.
[38] Section
25 of the Law
[39] Section
45 VAPP Law.
[40]
Nike Adebowale ‘SGBV: FCT secures one conviction from 444 reported cases
-Official’ Premium Times May 25, 2021 https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/463704-sgbv-fct-secures-one-conviction-from-444-reported-cases-official.html
[41]
‘Adamawa records 774 sexual, gender-based violence cases, convicts 297’ July
27, 2021 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/07/adamawa-records-774-sexual-gender-based-violence-cases-convicts-297-2/
[42]
Chika Onyesi ‘Why Gender-Based Violence persists in Nigeria despite increased
reporting’ July 10, 2021 https://dailypost.ng/2021/07/10/why-gender-based-violence-persists-in-nigeria-despite-increased-reporting/