Wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, has called for stiffer penalty for perpetrators of domestic and gender based violence accross the nation, as a panacea to curb the crime.
She also urged stakeholders in the war against domestic violence to give robust information on the victims of domestic and gender based violence, stressing that if such is done in all communities, the perpetrators would think twice before committing such heinous crimes.
Mrs. Abiodun, who is the chairperson of the committee set up by the state government to check the subjugation and oppression of women gave the advice at the launch of the Ota Police Family Support Unit (FSU), at Sango Area Command.
She posited that those who engage in domestic violence do so as because gender based violence is not given serious attention.
According to her, a good number of persons erroneously see such violence as a normal male and female relationship.
The governor’s wife further called for a synergy amongst Law Enforcement Agencies, Non–Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Stakeholders in the fighting against gender based violence to put more efforts in ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to Justice.
She commended the Ogun state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edward Awolowo Ajogun and the Ota police Area Commander, Mr. Monday Agbonika, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, for the FSU initiative.
While declaring the Unit open, Mrs. Abiodun described the Unit as first of its kind in Ogun state.
The first Lady was full of praises for CP Ajogun and his officers, as she eulogised them for remaining resolute and calm in the face of provocation, wanton destruction of lives and property during last month #EndSARS protest hijacked by hoodlums in some parts of the country.
Speaking, the Olota of Ota, Oba Abdulkareem Obalanlege appealed to Judges in Nigeria to give stiffer punishment to big and influential members of the society, not only to serve as deterrent to others, but also check smaller members of the society from committing domestic and other related crimes.
He noted that, the bigger you are in other civilised climes, the heavier the punishment you get in cases of domestic and gender based violence.
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In his remarks, Agbonika said when he reported at Ota as the Area Commander last year, he realised that there was high incidence of gender based and domestic violence cases in that community.
He said cases were not being reported because of stigimatasation and other similar consideration the reason he approached highly placed individuals, corporate bodies, officials of various Ministries to join hands with the police in the area to build a befitting facility for treating gender based and domestic violence.
He appealed to the Ogun state government to assist the Ota FSU with a vehicle to augument the only existing vehicle at the disposal of the unit.
He described the FSU as an upgrade of the Juvenile Welfare Center, JWC.
Mrs. Millicent Abibat Ajogun, the wife of the Ogun state police boss and chairperson of Police Officers Wives Association, POWA, commended Agbonika for the initiative.
She described the initiative as “unique and unprecedented which can’t be compared with what is obtainable in other places”.
Other dignitaries who attended the event are traditional rulers, the clerics, officials of Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Area Commander, the Ota TRACE Commander, Adekunle Ajibade and representatives of NGOs.
