The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, has affirmed the support of the Ministry toward the establishment of special courts to prosecute Sexual and Gender-based Violence cases in the country.
Malami made this statement during the 7th Network Conference on Sexual Assault Referral Centres jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice, FCT High Court, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ROLAC) Programme.
The theme for 2021 is the Imperative for Special Sexual and Gender-based Violence courts as part of events lined up for the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence in commemoration of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The AGF who was represented by Ag. Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Barr. (Mrs) Victoria Fila Ojogbane, said, “It is my firm belief that the creation of special courts to handle cases of sexual and gender-based violence will improve the effectiveness of courts services, ensure support for the victims, improve victim participation in the prosecution of their cases and promote efficiency and better information sharing,” he stated.
“In the pursuit of this essential need, I approve the constitution of a Federal Special Prosecution Team comprising of investigators and prosecutors from the Ministry, NAPTIP, Nigerian Police Force and other Agencies for training and other incidentals tailored towards achieving the ultimate goal of improving access to justice by survivors of SGBV,” he further stated.
He appreciated development partners particularly the European Union, United Nations Agencies, ROLAC, UNICEF, UNODC as well as Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development among others in supporting the Ministry’s efforts at galvanizing synergy among justice and law enforcement actors.
While speaking at the program, the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen OFR lamented the huge number of pending sexual related cases in courts, assuring that her office in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Office of Chief Justice of Nigeria, National Assembly and development partners to expedite action on the pending cases and get justice for the victims.