The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Tuesday described the 1,342 cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Nigeria as a disturbing phenomenon.
Malami spoke in Abuja at the opening of a two-day capacity building for judges on SGBV focusing on the use of practice direction and guidelines on the trial of sexual and gender-based violence and ancillary procedure.
He said the Federal Government had responded to the malaise by far-reaching policy, institutional and legislative measures such as the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015 (VAPP), which has been adopted in 34 out of the 36 states of the country.
He said the government had also established the Inter-Ministerial Management Committee on the Eradication of SGBV, the SGBV response unit of the Ministry of Justice to facilitate access to justice for victims of SGBV-related offences and the Prosecution Hub consisting of selected investigators and prosecutor from relevant MDAs.
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Earlier, the Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Fatima Waziri-Azi, had spoken about 1,342 SGBV cases involving spousal abuse, rape, physical injury, and abandonment.
