Connect with us

News

Lagos records 10,007 sexual, gender based violence cases in two years

Published

on

SEXUAL VIOLENCE CASES

 

The Lagos State government has disclosed that 10,007 cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (GBV) have been reported in the state since the commencement of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.

The cases were recorded by Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT). The figures also include non-gender based violence cases.

Chairman, DSVRT and Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, at a news conference in Alausa, Ikeja to commemorate the domestic and sexual violence awareness month, disclosed that under Sanwo-Olu’s administration, DSVRT received a total of 10,007 reported cases which included domestic violence and sexual violence perpetrated against adults and children.

In the figures released by Onigbanjo, from May 2019 till August 26th 2021, the Team has handled 10,007 cases which are into two categories, adults and children.

The breakdown of the cases showed that there were 4,150 domestic violence cases, 177 rape cases, 255 attempt to commit rape/sexual assault, 246 sexual assault by penetration/threat cases and 877 others (separation, not taking responsibilities of child(ren), neglect, custody of the child, Non-GBV, etc.).

Others are: 436 child abuse/physical assault cases, 271 defilement cases, 13 defilement by minor to minor, 454 child labour, abduction neglect/others and 148 sexual harassment/molestation cases.

See also  Ikpeazu congratulates Otti, asks opponents not to ‘distract’ Abia gov-elect

Analysis of the statistics revealed that 91 percent of women were abused as against nine percent for men, while in addition, 92 percent of adult in the age range of 18-45 years had the highest cases reported while 57 percent of children within the age range of 2-9 years experienced or witnessed the highest form of assault.

The data also revealed that 73 percent of domestic violence was reported for adult which turned out to be the highest form of GBV against adult while 69 percent of emotional abuse was reported for children who witnessed intimate partner violence and other assaults.

According to Onigbanjo, a total of 2,980 children had experienced emotional abuse, saying some of these children had been taken through counselling programmes to ensure they were able to psychologically deal with the events they had witnessed without it having a permanent and negative impact on them.

“Since May 2019, the Team began to attend to on average 150 new cases monthly. We have also witnessed an increase in reporting of cases from other States, mostly from Ogun and Oyo State. In the past 2 years, a total of 526 cases occurred outside Lagos. Such cases are promptly referred to the relevant agencies in their respective States.

See also  UPDATED: Goods worth millions destroyed as fire guts Lagos plank market

“The Office of the Public Defender, Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) as well as the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) provided free legal representation to 188 survivors of Domestic Violence, ranging from Judicial Separation, Divorce, Custody of children, Mediation and Settlement.

“As regards provision of shelter for survivors, the Ministry of Youth & Social Development, as well as strategic partner Non-Governmental Organisations, including God’s Home for Women, Day Spring, Project Alert and Cee Hope have played key roles in ensuring rescued survivors are evacuated to a safer environment of shelter homes.

“All the survivors of sexual assault received medical attention from Comprehensive Primary Health Care Centres, General Hospitals and Sexual Assault Referral Centres like Mirabel Centre, Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) as well as Idera Centre,” he said.

The commissioner added that in view of DSVRT’s mandate to implement the executive order on safeguarding and child protection, all reports of child protection policy contravention in schools were duly responded to.

“From May 2019 till date, the attention of DSVRT, Office of Education Quality Assurance as well as Department of School Social Work of the Ministry of Youth and Social Development has been drawn to incidents of Child Abuse in 37 schools.

See also  Good morning! Here Are Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: One killed as gunmen attack PDP campaign rally in Enugu

“All erring schools were investigated by the Office of Education Quality Assurance in the Ministry of Education. All the sexual violence related cases are being prosecuted by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, judgment has been secured in 2 of the cases. One school was shut down as a result of infractions, whilst one was requested to relocate in view of the safeguarding and child protection concerns raised during investigation,” he said.

Onigbanjo disclosed that in 2021, the Team had provided services to 10 persons with disabilities who were experiencing one form of Gender Based Violence or the other.

He further disclosed that in 2021 alone, the Team had sadly received reports of five victims of domestic violence who had died, all of which were escalated to the police as well as the chief coroner of Lagos State for a coroner’s inquest to be conducted with a view to ascertaining the cause of death, the outcome of which would greatly strengthen the case of the prosecution.

“Prosecution is ongoing in three of the cases whilst the remaining two suspects are currently on the run,” he said.

 

 

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Two Oyo commissioner, special adviser resign

Published

on

By

Two senior officials in the Oyo State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning have resigned their appointments from Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.

The officials are Ayobami Ojo, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, and Simeon Oyeleke, the ministry’s Special Adviser on Budget and Economic Planning.

In separate letters dated November 2, and addressed to Mr Makinde, both officials said their resignations would take effect immediately, while thanking the governor for the opportunity to serve but did not give specific reasons for their decisions.

In his letter, Ojo referred to his appointment letter dated 22 June 2026 and formally announced his resignation as commissioner.

“With reference to your letter dated 22nd June, 2026 (SP.S.662/2/VOL.IV/192), I respectfully write to formally resign my appointment as Honourable Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, with effect from today, 2nd November, 2026,” he wrote.

He described his time in government as an honour and said he appreciated the opportunity to serve the state.

See also  95-yr-old Queen Elizabeth sprains back, withdraws from Remembrance Service

Oyeleke also tendered his resignation with effect from 2 November.

In his letter, he thanked Mr Makinde for the confidence reposed in him and the opportunity to contribute to the administration’s policies and development programmes.

He also expressed appreciation for the governor’s leadership, support and encouragement during his time in office.

“I remain grateful for the opportunity to have been part of this administration and to have contributed to its laudable achievements. I also remain committed to the peace, progress and development of Oyo State,” he wrote.

The latest resignations come amid a series of exits of political appointees and other officials from the Makinde administration in recent months.

It would be recalled that Segun Ogunwuyi resigned as the governor’s chief of staff on 12 October, a position he had held since July 2021. His resignation took immediate effect, although he did not state a reason for his departure.

A few hours after Ogunwuyi’s departure, Makinde appointed Bashorun Akinwole, popularly known as Wolekanle, as his replacement.

See also  UPDATED: Police officer dies in Lagos auto crash

On the same day, Tara Adefope, the Director-General of the Oyo State Due Process Office, also resigned from her position, while in late October, Kabiru Salami, the governor’s Executive Assistant on Security Coordination, also tendered his resignation.

Other officials who have left the administration include Funmi Arulogun, a Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Matters, who resigned in August, citing personal and political considerations.

Babatunde Oduyoye, a member of the Oyo State Advisory Council, also resigned in July, while Fatai Owoseni, a former Commissioner of Police who served as the governor’s Special Adviser on Security resigned in May.

Continue Reading

News

Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: Campaigns: OK Movement insists on independence

Published

on

By

1. The OK (Obi/Kwankwaso) Movement has declared that it will maintain its independent identity while mobilising support for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and its candidates ahead of the 2027 general election. 

Movement’s leader John Ughulu said the group remained committed to its original mission of securing the election of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and erstwhile Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Speaking in an interview, Ughulu dismissed suggestions that the movement’s decision to campaign independently would undermine its support for the NDC, insisting that the focus should be on achieving a common  political objective.

2. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid got a big boost at the weekend with endorsements from across the country. His achievement, the need for consolidation, national cohesion, and other reasons were adduced for the show of solidarity. The presidential election is billed for January 16, 2027

3. The Federal Government has vowed to crack down on inflated public contracts and procurement violations, warning heads of government-owned agencies, corporations, councils, authorities and commissions that they risk sanctions for breaching procurement regulations. The government raised the alarm over contract awards that exceed approved price benchmarks.

See also  Sanwo-Olu frees 56 prison inmates in Lagos

4. The African Democratic Congress has rescheduled its presidential campaign kick-off in Sokoto State to Wednesday, November 4, despite alleging threats, attacks on its members and attempts by the state government to frustrate the event. The party said its decision to proceed with the campaign was a demonstration of its determination to exercise its constitutional rights despite what it described as growing political intimidation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

5. Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have neutralised four leaders of the Islamic State West Africa Province, including two Arabs, a commander and several of their foot soldiers in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. The Army said they were neutralised on October 31, 2026, by combined troops of the Joint Task Force deployed to Kukawa following a massive ISWAP terrorists attack on their locations.

6. United States President, Donald Trump, has agreed to grant an immediate visa to the mother of a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy shot dead in New York, following a request by the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani announced the development on Saturday after speaking with Trump, saying the visa would allow the teenager’s mother to travel to the United States and attend her son’s funeral.

See also  Good morning! Here Are Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: One killed as gunmen attack PDP campaign rally in Enugu

7. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested two Nigerians based in Europe after they allegedly ingested 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46kg while attempting to travel from Abuja to Paris, France. The suspects, identified as Aliocus Odife and Sam Blackborn, were arrested on Wednesday during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

8. Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted a 100-level female student of Plateau State University, Bokkos, while another person sustained injuries during an attack on off-campus student residential areas in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. It was learnt that the incidents, which occurred on Saturday evening at about 8:40pm, had heightened concerns over the safety of students residing outside the university campus.

9. An early-morning fire outbreak at the weekend destroyed no fewer than 110 buildings and structures at Kofar Ruwa Timber Market in the Kano metropolis. The Kano State Fire Service, while confirming the incident in a statement on Sunday, said the inferno razed 75 permanent buildings and 35 temporary structures across different sections of the market.

See also  Lagos appoints MC Oluomo Parks Management Committee chairman

10. The immediate past National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has declared his readiness to align with President Bola Tinubu or former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election, while ruling out support for the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi.

Continue Reading

News

Relief as suspected Ebola cases in Adamawa tested negative

Published

on

By

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that there are currently no laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola  in Adamawa.

The NCDC had on Saturday said that there were two suspected cases of Ebola in the north-east state, adding that the individuals had been isolated while contact identification was ongoing.

But in a statement on Sunday, the director-general of NCDC, Jide Idris,
said samples collected from the two individuals, who had symptoms suggestive of Ebola, tested negative after two rounds of testing.

“The report was received by the Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) in the early hours of 30 October 2026, following the identification of two individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola, requiring further investigation,” the statement reads.

“Hence the alert that was released early this evening. The individuals have been isolated, and appropriate public health measures have been initiated.

“Samples were collected for laboratory testing to establish the cause of the illness. Fortunately, the samples turned out negative for EBV after two rounds of testing.”

See also  Teenage boys who raped, killed woman arrested in Calabar

Idris commended the Adamawa health commissioner and his team for their “proactive approach”, adding that the NCDC was working closely with the state government to investigate the report of suspected Ebola cases.

“Currently, there is no laboratory-confirmed Ebola case in Adamawa state,” he said.

“The index case previously confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory remains the only confirmed case reported in Nigeria to date.”

He urged the public to remain calm and avoid sharing unverified information or speculating about the situation.

“The public is encouraged to obtain information from official government and public health communication channels,” he said.

Idris described Ebola as a serious infectious disease that requires prompt identification, appropriate clinical management and effective infection prevention and control measures.

“Anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding, particularly following relevant exposure, should seek immediate medical attention and inform healthcare workers of any relevant travel or contact history,” he said.

See also  Lagos appoints MC Oluomo Parks Management Committee chairman

“Individuals should avoid self-medication and follow the advice of healthcare professionals.”

Nigeriaconfirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, after a 42-year-old Swiss woman tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja.

The patient, who had travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, was subsequently isolated and treated by Nigerian health workers.

On Monday, the federal governmentevacuated the patient to Switzerland aboard a medical plane.

Her husband, who was identified as a close contact, was also evacuated to Switzerland.

Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious and communicating, with her laboratory test results approaching baseline levels.

Continue Reading

Trending News