Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari has advocated for severe punishment for those who go against the provisions of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act.
Mrs. Buhari said when perpetrators gender-based receive punishments that are commensurate to the enormity of their crimes, it would serve as deterrent to potential offenders.
Speaking at a conference on child and vulnerable witnesses protection in Nigeria, which was organised by the National Association of Women Judges on Thursday in Abuja, the First Lady noted adequate sanction for violators of the VAPP law would help victims of such heinous crimes get just and closure.
Represented by Mary Ekpere-Eta, Director General of the National Centre for Women Development, Mrs. Buhari said: “I want to use this opportunity to advocate that violators of the VAPP Act should receive punishments commensurate to the gravity of their crimes. “This will serve as deterrent to offenders and engender a sense of justice and closure to the victims.”
Earlier, the President of the National Association of Women Judges in Nigeria, Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, gave an insight to the essence of the conference.
“The essence of this hybrid conference on child and vulnerable witnesses protection in Nigeria is to create the awareness, stimulate discussions, cross-fertilise ideas and opinions and congregate experiences towards enhancing and charting a new course for child vulnerable witnesses within the context of the Nigerian legal system.”
She lamented that, “Nigeria is behind in the protection of child and vulnerable witnesses when compared to her Commonwealth counterparts.”
In her welcome remarks, the apex court Justice drew the attention of the government to the dearth of legislation for the protection of children and vulnerable witnesses in the country.
“It is important to draw the attention of all participants that no single legislation in Nigeria provides for the protection of child and vulnerable witnesses in Nigeria.
“The Child’s Right Act has been passed by the National Assembly, however, some States of the Federation are yet to domesticate this legislation. This hesitation in domestication has in some ways put a peg in the process of development of practices and systems deliberately aimed at offering protection to child and vulnerable witnesses in Nigeria.”
Justice Odili further further explained: “Witness protection is the ability of a witness or victim to give testimony in a judicial setting or to cooperate with law enforcement investigations without fear of intimidation or reprisal attacks, stigmatisation or any social disabilities arising from being a witness in a proceeding.”
She disclosed that most Commonwealth jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and South Africa had all made credible advancement in this regard.
