A child and girls’ rights organisation, Plan International Nigeria, has condemned attacks on voters, especially girls and women, during last Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections.
There were reports of some voters across the country, who came under violent attacks by political thugs during voting. A particular case in point was the stabbing of a woman, Mrs. Efidi Bina Jennifer in the face by political thugs while she was about to cast her vote.
In a statement released on Thursday, Charles Usie, Country Director of Plan International Nigeria, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to ensure that children, women, girls and other vulnerable populations, especially people with disability, are protected during elections.
“We condemn any act of electoral violence and in particular the violent attack on Mrs. Bina Jennifer and other girls and women. We call on the security agencies to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” Usie said in the statement.
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He noted that women constitute 49.47% of the Nigerian population, and 47.50% of registered voters, according to INEC, but were regrettably at the receiving end of violent activities of political thugs.
“The women especially showed their resilience and proved that they are not just numbers to tick the box and must therefore be protected by all means,”
“Apart from the attacks on women, many men were reported to have lost their lives while some were maimed as a result of these acts of violence. This also has serious implications for women and girls who are either forced to become sole breadwinners for their families or bear the extra burden of caring for the maimed family members,” Usie said.
