“Only 16 Convicted GBV Cases out of 5100”- Minister of Women’s Affairs
According to Nigeria’s Minister of Women’s Affairs Pauline Tallen, only 16 of 5100 cases of Gender-Based Violence have faced conviction so far in Nigeria.
According to ARISE News, Minister Tallen disclosed this during a media briefing held in Abuja during the weekend. This was alongside comments where she said that gender-based violence was getting to an epidemic level in Nigeria. Ms Tallen said too, that while 160 of such cases were fatal, 231 were closed and 936 were still ongoing.
She went on to criticise the judicial system in Nigeria for its slow process while also urging the Ministry of Interior to include psychiatric evaluation as a prerequisite and requirement for marriage. Ms Tallen also complained about the lack of budget allocations in the fight against Gender-Based Violence saying that only organisations like the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Spotlight Initiative have assisted.
Ms Tallen added that the lack of implementation and domestication of the Child Rights Act and the Violence Against Persons Act had been a major problem. Ms Tallen urged members of the Nigerian society to move along with the times as in her words, “we can no longer tolerate wickedness, greed, envy and malicious acts under the guise of culture”.
“As we are dealing with the case of Osinachi Nwachukwu as one-more-case- too-many of GBV, we were again greeted this time with so many others,” Ms Tallen said. “Perpetrators need to be told that Nigeria is a society with Zero Tolerance against GBV.” Commenting on the importance of proper upbringing in the fight against domestic violence she said, “We must play our part in moulding our male children to become better adults who can take on marital responsibilities without feeling insecure. We must put an end to the culture of reinforcing male dominance in the society”.
Osinachi Nwachukwu was a popular gospel singer who according to reports was murdered by her husband in mid-April after a long case of domestic violence. Her husband has been arrested and is currently been investigated.