GBV: Out of 5,100 Cases, Only 16 Have Been Convicted, Says Minister

Kuni Tyessi

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Paullen Tallen has revealed that out of 5, 100 cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV), only 16 of such cases have been convicted so far, nationwide.
Reacting to the rising state of the menace which she said was taking an epidemic level in the country, Tallen who disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja, at the weekend, further disclosed that while160 of such cases were fatal, 231 were closed, 936 were still ongoing.
Indicting the judicial system over its slow judicial process, Tallen called on the Ministry of Interior to as a matter of urgency, include psychiatric evaluation as prerequisites for marriage.
Lamenting that there had been zero allocation for the fight against GBV, the minister said only organisations like the EU and UN Spotlight Initiative have given assistance.
In the same vein, she said the domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act and the Child Rights Act were not enough without implementation which she reiterated had been a major problem.
She said the Nigerian society must move with the reality of the times as, “we can no longer tolerate wickedness, greed, envy and malicious acts under the guise of culture.
“As we are dealing with the case of Osinachi Nwachukwu as one-more-case- too-many of GBV, we were again greeted this time with so many others.
“Perpetrators need to be told that Nigeria is a society with Zero Tolerance against GBV.
“As a first step to ensuring that we bring an end to this issue, I will initiate a conversation with the Minister of Interior to ensure that psychiatric test is made compulsory as part of marriage requirements in the country.
“We must play our part in molding our male children to become better adults who can take on marital responsibilities without feeling insecure. We must put an end to the culture of reinforcing male dominance in the society.”