Governor Fayemi signs Sexual Violence Against Children law

… advocates national consensus on sexual violence

Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has called for a synergy among all the states of the federation to combat the incessant occurrence of child defilement and rape in the country.

Dr. Fayemi stated this on Friday while signing into law the Sexual Violence Against Children (Compulsory treatment and care for child victims of sexual violence), recently passed by the state House of Assembly.

The Governor who reiterated the state’s policy of zero tolerance to all forms of sexual violence against women and children said the law reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to support the effective prosecution of sex offenders as well as present an opportunity for child victims to enjoy a necessary treatment by the government.

The governor lamented the rate at which women and the girl child are being violated in the country describing it as an act of extreme violence that must be addressed urgently before it gets out of hand. In the drive to combat the scourge nationally, Fayemi calls for a state of emergency to deal more effectively with the menace.

Fayemi promised to engage the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in a conversation on the issue to determine what emergency measures to put in place to address the crisis situation more effectively. He urged the state House of Assembly to engage the civil society and the private sector with a view to identifying urgent intervention in ending violence against women and girl children that can be implemented immediately.

Governor Fayemi said, “Today, I’m proud to sign a law that affirms one of the important policies of my administration. That is our policy of zero tolerance of all forms of sexual violence against women and children. The ‘Compulsory Treatment and Care for Child Victims of Sexual Violence Bill, 2020’ reaffirms our commitment not only to prompt medical care for child victims of sexual violence but also supports our resolve to achieve the effective prosecution of sex offenders.

“It is my view that there is a need for a national consensus on the issue. I will be engaging the Nigeria Governors’ Forum at our next meeting to determine what emergency measures can be put in place to address this crisis more effectively and on a national basis. Meanwhile, I will urge the House of Assembly to engage civil society and the private sector with a view to identifying urgent interventions in ending violence against women and girls that can be implemented without delay.”

The governor revealed that his administration enacted several laws against sexual violence and had undertaken a number of programmes to enable effective action against sexual violence during his first term in office. This he said included the review of legislations, practices, and customs that discriminate against women; laws, policies, and programmes that explicitly prohibit and punish sexual violence and ensuring an improvement in the quality and accessibility of services so that women and children have prompt access to support services regardless of their location, age or finance.

He explained further that his administration specifically established a Register of Sex Offenders of all persons convicted of acts of sexual violence and adopted a policy of publicly naming and shaming convicted sex offenders as well as putting machinery in motion to strengthen the Gender-Based Violence Management Committee to oversee the implementation of the GBV Law.

“In many respects, however, it is now obvious that we need to do more to confront the severity of the challenges we face. Our response must be efficient and proactive to end a culture of impunity and foster a culture of justice and deterrent. It is against this background that I now wish to enumerate some of the additional measures we will be taking.

“First, by virtue of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Child Victims of Sexual Violence Law, 2020’ a child victim of sexual violence in this State will have rapid access to a medical facility that can administer emergency medical care, including treatment to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and counselling.

“We are going to overhaul and modernize our register of sex offenders to ensure it is effective in combating sexual violence. I have directed the Ministry of Justice to consider additional measures to make the register permanently accessible to the public.

“The Ministry of Justice is further directed to reaffirm state policy of opposing bail and rejecting plea bargain proposals from perpetrators of rape and child defilement. The State Government’s policy of ensuring that convicted sex offenders do not benefit from my power of prerogative of mercy remain in force.” Dr. Fayemi added.

The Governor also directed the Ministry of Justice to work on measures to clear the backlog of rape and child defilement cases delayed because of the closure of courts during the COVID 19 period adding that his administration was determined to improve conviction rates and provide comprehensive and appropriate support services to ensure survivors of sexual offences are not subjected to further trauma.

While seeking the cooperation of medical facilities and the security outfits in the state whose roles are crucial to the implementation of the law, Dr. Fayemi expressed his appreciation to State House of Assembly for its prompt passage of the law.

ekitistate.gov.ng

13-year-old girl drugged, gangraped in Kaduna

The Kaduna State Ministry of Human Services and Social Development has launched an investigation into the raping of a 13 - year - old girl in the state .

It was learnt that the girl was drugged before being gangraped by the four men . They later dumped her underneath a parked vehicle near her house.

According to the ministry, the victim was taken by suspects on a motorcycle that was “ ridden by an unsuspecting biker and dumped underneath a parked car close to her house.”

The Ministry stated on its twitter handle on Thursday that after hours of frantic search, the victim was found by a relative and immediately taken to the hospital.

It said the four rapists and one collaborator have since been arrested and the case moved to the State Criminal Investigative Department.

“ After investigation, the suspects will be charged before a court of competent jurisdiction ,” it said.

It stated that while the ongoing conversation “ on # SayNoToRapists continues , the monstrous practitioners have not shown signs of slowing down.”

The case of rape has recently gathered momentum following several cases of rape on social media.

Only recently, a 100 level student of the University of Benin, Vera Uwaila Omozuwa , was raped and killed in a church.

PUNCH

NASS member regrets comments on rape debate, apologizes to Nigerian women

A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Ahmed Jaha (APC-Borno), has regretted the comments he made at the Thursday’s plenary, apologising to Nigerians, especially women.

Jaha, at an interview with journalists on Saturday in Abuja, recalled his comments at the debate that women should cultivate a habit of proper dressing to avoid unnecessary harassment from men who could not control themselves.

The lawmaker, representing Chibok, Damboa, Gwoza Federal Constituency of Borno, said he regretted making such statement as it affected the sensitivity of women.

“I have made a mistake that has offended the sensibilities of fellow Nigerians and indeed, fellow human beings, particularly women who are our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.

“While I totally reaffirm my position that rapists should face death sentences, I regret the part that talks about the dressing of women.

“I deeply apologise for this position, because as some have rightly argued, my comments, could imply that women who are victims, share the blame of being raped.

“This clearly, could not have been the intention of someone who suggested death penalty for rapists,” Jaha said.

The lawmaker said that there were three sets of people who never made mistakes: “the dead, those incapacitated and those that are healthy, but useless to the society”.

According to him, mistakes are for those who make efforts, but gets it wrong; it is then left to them to own up to their mistakes, take responsibility, tender apology and dedicate themselves to genuine repentance.

Jaha said that a woman’s choice of dressing could not justify rape, saying that if women who were the weaker sex show discipline by looking away when men were not well dressed, men should even do better.

“I know that it is a divine responsibility for every good man to protect and preserve the pride of a woman.

“Most women are born with natural strength of endurance, that is why they are able to go through childbirth, to nurture families, take care of relations and still able to earn descent livelihoods.

“Women do things with completeness. I admire this so much because I have benefited from the sincerity and commitment of women.

“I hold women with the highest respect, with great pride and with so much love that is pure and responsible,” the parliamentarian added.

Jaha also apologised to his colleagues in the house and his constituents who might have been disappointed by his comments, especially female lawmakers.

He called for the domestication of Violence Against Persons and Prohibition Act and other relevant laws against gender-based violence in the country.

NAN

Buhari Sitting On A Chair Inside Mosque: This Is What It Means

Buhari Sitting On A Chair Inside Mosque: This Is What It Means

There have been discussions on why President Muhammadu Buhari sat on a chair inside the mosque during Friday Jumat service.

The first time Buhari was seen sitting on a chair to observe prayers was during the recent Eid-il-Fitri prayer with his family in the Aso Villa in Abuja.

Before now, the President is not known for sitting on the chair to observe any form of Solat, be it obligatory or ceremonial. Even after he returned from a medical tourism then, he attended the Jumat services praying on the mat like other worshippers.

The question is, what has changed? Is anybody allowed to sit on a chair inside the mosque?

As we are ageing, the body also changes. Our health is also affected and that may mean different things in different parts of the body to different individuals.

To some, their legs are affected as they age. Some, their eyes and so on.

Performing prayer while sitting on a chair is not allowed for people who have the ability to perform the prayer in a normal way.

That is, anybody who has the ability to perform the prayer, by paying due regard to all the postures of prayer like qiyam, ruku`, sujud, etc should do so without any excuse.

In Islam, it is only the sick and travelers that are allowed to pray in the sitting position, lowering their heads a little bit for ruku` and more for sujud.

In fact, sick people people are allowed to pray in whatever position they deem convenient, even while lying down.

For those who are not sick, it is forbidden to pray sitting down on a chair, whether they are praying in private places or public. In Islam, all the postures of prayer must be observed.

A Saudi Islamic lecturer and author, Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Al-Munajjid says “Standing is an essential part of prayer, if a person fails to stand during the prayer, from the initial Takbeer to the final salam, with no valid excuse for that, his prayer is invalid.”

According to Al-Baqarah: 238, Allah says: “And stand before Allah with obedience”.

For obligatory prayers, if a person sits down to pray when he is able to stand, his prayer will be invalid before Allah. Truly, such prayer will not get any reward. More so, this is actually counted as a sin.

As a result, it is important to tell those who perform prayers sitting on the chairs during the obligatory prayers that it is not allowed for them to do so if they are able to stand.

This is allowed unless they find it extremely difficult to stand.

Get it right, somebody must find it extremely difficult to stand or to observe all postures. A slight difficulty is not an excuse.

I have seen people asking if Buhari is bigger than God for sitting on a chair during Eid and Jumaat prayers.

It is not a matter of being bigger than God. It is a matter of the condition of the body.

Many people commenting on the issue have no idea what it means to observe prayers sitting on the chair. 

The Eagle Voice

FAYEMI MOURNS DEATH OF SIR REMI OMOTOSO

FAYEMI MOURNS DEATH OF SIR REMI OMOTOSO

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi has mourned the death of boardroom guru and former Chairman of the Board of Standard Chartered Bank, Sir Remi Omotoso, who passed on Friday, after a brief illness.

Omotosho, a seasoned administrator and industry leader in Nigeria’s financial sector, hailed from Ayedun-Ekiti. He was aged 75 years.

Dr Fayemi, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Friday, described the late Omotoso as an illustrious son of the Land of Honour, a dynamic leader in the financial sector and a patriot who served his fatherland diligently and made Ekiti proud through numerous achievements.

He described the late Omotoso as a frontline investor, thoroughbred professional, seasoned administrator and impactful community leader who lived a life of service to God and humanity.

Dr Fayemi, who hailed the contributions of the late Omotoso to national development, noted that the deceased served meritoriously in several top management positions he held in the last four decades including as Chairman of the Board of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria, DN Meyer Paints and Greenwhich Trust Limited; as well as Group Managing Director of Odua Investment Company Limited and Director General/Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry at different times.

Omotoso was also chairman, PPP Committee of Ekiti State during Governor Fayemi’s first term and served actively in the State Covid-19 Response Resource Mobilisation Committee, where he served as Chairman of the Funds Management and Evaluation Committee and the Dederal Government Relations Committee.

Governor Fayemi said: “Despite Sir Omotoso’s busy schedule, he invested, his time and resources and energy on many laudable initiatives that impacted positively on the lives of the people and was always ready to support successive administration in the state with his wealth of experience and extensive national and global contacts.

“For us in Ekiti, this is a huge loss. Sir Remi Omotoso was an exemplar. He represented our very best in Ekiti and made great impact in almost every aspect of life.  He remained a source of pride and inspiration to generations after him.

“Though we shall miss his wise counsel and positive disposition to developmental issues, but we are comforted by the fact he lived a good life and left behind legacies of  service and honour. He remains our pride in Ekiti”.

“Our prayer is that God will grant him eternal rest and comfort the family”, the Governor added.

 

Signed

Olayinka  Olayinka Oyebode

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ekiti State

Statement From Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, On The passage Of His Excellency, Late Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua

“I received the news of the death of Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua with shock and pray that the Almighty God would comfort those that he left behind. I pray that God would forgive the departed his sins and accept his soul."

Evangelist Olumilua was a reputed career diplomat who worked assiduously and served with utmost probity and distinction; and his passing has created a deep void within the political space as he will truly be missed.

His time as Former Governor of Old Ondo State, we saw a heightened period of cooperation between  the state and the Federal Governments; that created several opportunities for the benefit of the State. I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Late Olumilua as former Chairman of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission and Chancellor of the Ekiti State University (EKSU).

I reckon that these are tough times for the Olumilua Family and our State; and we will continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers during this time of deep sorrow."

Indeed, Ekiti has lost an illustrious son and a committed public servant. May his soul rest in perfect peace and may perpetual light shine upon him."

Signed:

Sen. Olubunmi Adetunmbi, Senator Representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, National Assembly, Abuja.