Judiciary
THE Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Justice Network Cluster is mobilising justice service providers to strengthen the implementation of Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law (VAPPL) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).
Mrs Hannatu Ahuwan, acting Executive Director, Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW), stated this at the opening of a two-day capacity building programme, on Thursday in Kaduna.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was for service providers in the justice sector on the provisions of the VAPPL and ACJL.
Ahuwan said that the main goal was to enhance the knowledge of key justice sector actors on the relevant provisions of the VAPPL and the ACJL.
She added that the engagement was also to enhance speedy justice delivery in SGBV cases in Kaduna state and other project implementing states.
According to her, the measure will improve inter-agency coordination among service providers in the justice sector, to ensure speedy justice delivery.
She added that it was also to ensure the implementation of the VAPPL and ACJL project in Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Kaduna, Osun and Federal Capital Territory.
“It aims to identify and engage relevant government sectors and actors towards ensuring effective justice service delivery to survivors of SGBV in a transparent and accountable manner across six project locations.’’
Ahuwan said that the project was being implemented under the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project, a USAID funded programme.
She added that it was being implemented by Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Justice Network Cluster, in partnership with Palladium.
“The implementation is anchored by Lawyers Alert with LANW as its Kaduna base member of the cluster,” she said.
Lawyers Alert is a human organisation promoting the rights of women and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria through literacy, advocacy and provision of free legal services.
Mrs Rebecca Sako-John, Member of the Board of Trustee, LANW, said that the training would enhance service delivery, especially in the areas of access to justice and support for survivors of SGBV.
She said the VAPP and ACJ laws were necessitated by the gaps in existing laws and policies, which included non-inclusivity and the dynamics of Gender Violence Act.
Sako-John also said that there were numerous laws on SGBV that needed harmonisation to speed up trials.
She observed that, while Nigeria was good at making laws and signing international charters and treaties, implementation had remained a problem.
NAN reports that the participants included Judges, Magistrates, State Counsel, Registrars, personnel of Correctional Centres and Gender Desk Officers.
Others are officers from Human Right Commission, Civil Society Organisations, International Federation Women Lawyers, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.(NAN)
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Tags: Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) Civil Society Organisations Hannatu Ahuwan International Federation Women Lawyers Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities and National Agency Justice Network Cluster Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) USAID Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law (VAPPL)
