VAAP LAW: GROUP TAKES POLICE OFFICERS TO TASK
REPORTER: CHINAZO ILECHUKWU
Law enforcement agents serving in Imo State have been enjoined to familiarize themselves with the Violent Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law to assist in ending child-trafficking and gender-related crimes in the society.
The Executive Director of a nongovernmental organization, Alliances for Africa, Ms. Iheoma Obiibi, gave the charge at a training on Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law organized for senior police officers in Owerri.
Violence against Persons prohibition bill was passed by the National Assembly and signed into law in 2015 by former President Goodluck Jonathan to, among other things, end female circumcision, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood practices.
After six years of struggle for the Imo State House of Assembly to domesticate the law, Governor Hope Uzodimma on December 15, 2021 assented to the bill.
Aside eliminating all forms of violence against persons in public and private life, the law provides maximum protection and effective remedies for victims as well as punishment of offenders.
At the workshop in Owerri, the Executive Director of Alliances for Africa, Ms. Iheoma Obibi, explained that the Police had crucial role to play in fighting sexual abuse, child trafficking and other forms of human rights abuses in the society.
The Director of Programmes, Alliances for Africa, Mrs. Blessing Duru, stressed the need for close collaboration with the police to end sexual abuse, especially in tertiary institutions.
She, however, commended the Imo State Police Command under the present leadership for interest in fighting violence against the vulnerable members of the society but called for the establishment of special desks to deal with related cases for more efficiency.
A former member of the Imo State House of Assembly, Dr. Uju Onwudiwe, called for more sensitization, noting that the law protects every member of the society.
She expressed the optimism that harmful widowhood practices, defilement and abuse of the destitute would be a thing of the past if the police intensify the ongoing effort in ending the crime.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Mr. Aboki Danjuma, who declared the training open, urged participants to take advantage of the programme to acquaint themselves with the law to enable them to discharge their duties.
Mr. Danjuma commended the organizers of the event for their effort in ending violence in the communities and expressed the hope that the knowledge acquired would strengthen the capacity of his men.
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU
