Nasarawa moves to make its 2021 anti-violence law work in practice
- Nasarawa's women affairs commissioner says the state will push harder to enforce its Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law.
- A two-day Lafia workshop backed by CLEEN Foundation looked at why the law is rarely used and how to fix it.
- FIDA says the law lets survivors claim compensation, something the old Penal Code did not provide.
Nasarawa State says it will step up enforcement of its Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, known as the VAPP Law, which took effect in January 2021 but has been little used in practice.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Rebecca Adamu Kwaji, made the commitment on Wednesday in Lafia at a two-day workshop on closing the gaps in how the law is applied. CLEEN Foundation organised the event with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
Kwaji said the state had shown it was serious by putting the law into its legal framework, and she expects that to translate into fewer cases of gender-based violence.
She said her ministry's Social Welfare Department has been handling such cases, with suspects taken to court and survivors given care. The ministry also runs a shelter where survivors can stay and be kept apart from their abusers while they recover, she said.
Still, Kwaji was candid that the law has not had the visibility it deserves. She said little emphasis had been placed on it and hoped the workshop would change that.
Why a law on paper is not enough
CLEEN Foundation's Executive Director, Peter Maduoma, said the law is a strong tool for preventing violence, protecting survivors and punishing offenders, but that passing it does not by itself deliver justice.
He said the real test is whether a woman facing domestic violence can seek help and get a quick response, whether a survivor of sexual violence can report without stigma or blame, and whether the agencies that investigate, prosecute, support and rehabilitate survivors work together.
Maduoma, who was represented by the foundation's Senior Programme Officer, Bernard Ekobay, listed the problems standing in the way: many people do not know their rights or where to report, agencies do not coordinate well, and investigations and prosecutions are weak or uneven. Survivor support is also thin, resources are stretched, and social pressure pushes families towards settling cases quietly instead of seeking justice.
He urged participants to work out which of these problems bite hardest in Nasarawa and which reforms can realistically be carried out.
Halima Hudu Abubakar, chairperson of the Nasarawa chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), said the workshop could improve how offenders are prosecuted. She said the Penal Code the state used before did not properly cover physical, economic, sexual and emotional abuse.
She also pointed to a benefit many survivors do not know about: under the VAPP Law, a victim can go to court to seek compensation, not just see the offender prosecuted.
"Before the coming of the VAPP Law, no law talked about compensating the victim," she said.
For residents, the practical question is whether reporting abuse leads to action. The workshop's focus on awareness, coordination and accountability suggests the next steps will be telling people where to go for help and getting the police, courts and social services to respond faster.
