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Francis Ogunbowale: Violence against women

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It was indeed very horrible and in fact a gory sight watching the video clips in a social media of the beastly act of the wicked men who masqueraded as members of the Vigilante group, engaged to secure the market in Ejigbo, against the poor wife of a wine tapper and Nike, her step daughter, in February 2013, on a mere allegation of stealing pepper in the market.

This incident again reminds us that one, Nigeria is a failed or failing state incapable of providing food, security and other basic necessities of life, to its highly impoverished citizens. Two, that the Nigeria police and in fact the other security agencies, are ineffective when it comes to responding to crisis, averting violence and nibing crime in the bud. This is notwithstanding the highly improved and fabulous allocation from successive budgets and Three, that as a nation, we are suffering from bad leadership and bankruptcy of followership, as shown in the delay from February to December, before the incident becomes public knowledge.

Before now, men are not perceived to be as heinous as they had exhibited in the Ejigbo saga. The stripping of women naked in the open market and the insertion of broken bottles in their vagina, an ordeal that took about one whole hour, where all sort of Special Police and combined Team of Police/Army Patrols are supposed to be stationed, are not only murderous, but crude, brutal, disgusting and very excruciating.

We need to thank Dr Joe Odumakin and her NGO and in fact all other NGOs that brought the incident to the open and challenging all the three arms of government to ensure justice against the strange, horrific and emerging form of violence. However, the press statement granted later by Hon Kehinde Bamgbetan, Chairman, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), left no one in doubt that justice may be far from Nike and her step mother. According to him, he had reviewed the incident with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and it may be difficult to make any impact considering that the crime took place 9 months earlier and that the victims may have relocated.

One would have expected the DPO or the Commissioner of Police to refute the claim and assure Nigerians that the police would rise to the occasion and unravel the terrorists. The incident may just go to the archive like the case of Franca Ogbu who was bathed with acid by her boy friend in 2010 and Chika Egbo, the 25 year old student of Enugu College of Education, whose fiancé poured acid and deface her face. Or the widely publicised case of Yerima and his marriage to an under-age girl or that of Mrs Chime against her husband who is still a serving governor, in the country.

It is the hope of every meaning people to see that the criminals are arrested, prosecuted and sentenced. In other places where government shows no strong interest in matters of public concern, private investigators usually spring into action and unravel the case. In the case at hand, apart from the solidarity by discrete and un-publicized condemnation shown by public, only Janet Fashani, a New York based Attorney and her partners, show financial commitment, by offering N25,000, although very laughable, for information that can lead to the arrest of the culprits of the Ejigbo violence. It is not that Hon Kehinde Bamgbetan cannot afford more, but the problem is, if he insists that the culprits must be brought to book, who are those that will ensure his re-election bid or future political careers?. Majority of those who would be very happy by the arrest of the vigilante men don’t vote. They cannot afford to languish under the scorching sun only for the politicians to upturn the ballots.

So the problem here bothers on lack of political will to do the right thing. It goes beyond problem of masculinity or feminism. It has to do with state apathy and deficiencies in the execution of law and order. In fact, violence against women is driven by complex socio political factors. Patriarchal ideas about men and belief that this is indeed a man’s world, is not only held by men, but also women. In some cases, raping a woman is seen as a means of asserting power and energy and show that man is stronger.

Due to this, there is need for an effective, very holistic method and social revolution to readjust the wide conception of feminity, redefine masculinity, empower women and create a Welfare Centre at every police station or Local Government Areas or Wards, to manage and report of all sorts of violence against women including domestic violence, stalking, dating violence, sexual assault and the rest.

Dr. Joe Odumakin’s NGO and other NGOs should be strengthened to be able to do beyond publicizing human right abuses. In Philippines, The Bathaluman Crisis Centre Foundation, established in 1991, doesn’t only publicize violations, it helps women victims and survivors by providing psycho social support services, group counseling and Referral Centres, to deal with physical and emotional trauma of victims.

The Nigerian government should be more challenged to combat violation of rights of women. In US, government set up The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The OVW Act, enacted in 1995, renewed in 2005 and 2013, enabled OVW to reduce violence against women, administer justice and strengthen services for victims of violence against women. Through government funding, OVW has so far awarded federal grants of about $4.7 billion to communities across the United States.

Furthermore, Nigeria as a country need to tap maximally from the succor provided by International Organizations and multilateral agencies such as the Amnesty International, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations that has declared 25th November of every year, as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women. While the police needs to evolve a more result oriented method to arrest and investigate violence cases against women, the prosecutors and the lawyers should co-operate with the courts, to seek redress for the victims of violence against women.

Justice delayed is justice denied. The ordeal of the two women in Ejigbo happened about 10 months ago and yet no arrest or investigation has taken place. In India, it took barely 10 months to arrest, investigate and prosecute the 6 men who gang rape Jyoti Singh Pandey, the 23 year old lady, in a bus in New Delhi. The lady died as a result of the injuries she sustained barely 13 days after the incident. The court convicted 4 of the 6 men and sentenced them to death. Justice must not elude Nike and her step mother. Long Live Nigeria.

Ogunbowale is an Attorney in Lagos.