Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration is working hard to deal with the problem of rape and gender base violence in the country.
Osinbajo who stated this while speaking at a virtual meeting organized by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC on the Scourge of Rape, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria said the fight against rape and gender violence would be driven down to the States through the National Economic Council, NEC which he chairs.
He said every form of sexual assault are blemishes on the collective humanity and dignity of Nigerians as a people and a Nation.
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Vice President Osinbanjo, made reference to the rape and murder of Mrs Queen Igbinevbo, a pregnant woman in her home in Edo State on May 20, 2020, and Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a 22-year old student of University of Benin on May 27, 2020,stressing that both assault should never have happened and must not be allowed to continue.
Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari in collaboration with the State Governors recently undertook to take drastic actions against gender-based violence.
According to him, there is need to look beyond just legislation to fix the problem, but rather, interrogate the deeply dysfunctional cultures, the systemic flaws in the nation’s institutions and the perverse social norms which encourages sexual and gender-based violence.
He also acknowledged that the Women Affairs Ministry, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, the International Community and several Civil Society Organizations have also been at the forefront of finding solutions and transformative strategies to address the root causes of gender-based violence.
Present at the virtual meeting was the Women Affairs Minister, Dame Paullen Tallen, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, representatives of the United Nations and Civil Society Organizations.
(Editor:Abaje Usekwe)
