Bauchi governor tags rape ‘monster’ haunting women

The increasing spate of rape cases in Bauchi State has become a source of worry to the Governor, Bala Mohammed, who described the act as a “monster” haunting the womenfolk.

While launching the 2021-2024 ‘State Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security’ yesterday in Bauchi, the governor promised that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill, which was recently passed by the House of Assembly, would soon be fully domesticated and implemented to tackle human rights violations.

He further explained that the state government recognised that a lot of violence was being unleashed on women and, as such, the government had been trying to involve them in governance.

“Women have always been a stabilising factor and I’ve always found them to be exceptionally reliable, dependable and trustworthy. Unfortunately, a lot of things are happening. Our women are in danger and we, the men, must summon the courage to tell ourselves the truth,” he said.

Describing rape as a monster in the state, Mohammed said: “Yes! We have come up with the VAPP law. It has a lot of gaps and we are reviewing that law, so that it would be in tandem with our beliefs, tradition and culture.

“What we did initially was to take it because we were in a hurry to make sure that we provide a legal and legislative framework for this action plan, but we are fully domesticating it.”

The governor further revealed that the state government was expediting plans to ensure that the Child Rights Act was domesticated in the state.

According to him, all the traditional and religious institutions had been mobilised to make sure that the people at the grassroots were sensitised about the important position of women in society.

Meanwhile, the Country Representative of United Nations Women, Mrs. Comfort Lamprey, explained that 13 states in Nigeria had so far developed action plans on women, peace and security, with Bauchi being the last on the list.

She congratulated Bauchi for being among states and reiterated that the UN women and their partners were committed to improving the plights of women in Nigeria.

Lamprey explained that a monitoring committee had been established to monitor and coordinate the implementation of the action.