The people of communities affected by the activities of bandits in the Niger State have been called upon to reintegrate the survivors of gender based violence, to psychologically, socially, and financially equip them to return to their families.
Emir of Minna, Alhaji Dr. Umar Faruq Bahago, made the appeal at a one-day sensitisation workshop organised for survivors of Gender-Based Violence in Minna by the Development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), under the Muslim Opinion Leaders project on the prevention of GBV in Northern Nigeria, in collaboration with the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN), with the support of the Ford Foundation.
The Royal Father, represented by the Mubudin Minna, Alhaji Abubakar Bosso Yakubu, described the activities of bandits as a criminal enterprise that is being addressed with the necessary skill by government at all levels.
The monarch disclosed that about four local councils in his domain are being bedevilled by the activities of bandits, ranging from kidnapping to gender-based violence, which has led to the abduction of several women, among whom are the 35 recently rescued. He noted that the affected councils include Paikoro, Shiroro, Munya, and Bosso.
Dr.Bahago applauded the organisers of the sensitisation workshop, and enjoined other donor agencies to continue to work with the state government in promoting peace and security of the people.
In her keynote address, the Executive Director of the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), Dr. Judith Ann Walker, represented by the Director of Partnership and Communication, Malam Hassan Aliyu Karofi, emphasised that the workshop is adopting the Kinshasa declaration protocol to promote the rights of survivors for reparation and to facilitate the co-creation with survivors and victims of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence in Niger State.
Malam Hassan had revealed that the Muslim Opinion Leaders project has continued to engage communities and policy makers in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Niger, and Bauchi states in promoting interventions that prevent incidences of gender-based violence.
Also speaking, the Director General, Niger State Religious Affairs, Dr Umar Faruq, represented by Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammed Mukhtar, advised the stakeholders to continue to preach against the stigmatisation of survivors, stressing that integrating the survivors and accepting them back into their communities will reduce cases of Stockholm syndrome where survivors feel safer with their captors than their communities due to stigmatisation.
The keynote speaker, Imam Muhammad Sani Isah, the Chief Imam of Walf Road Mosque in Kaduna, quoted Qur’anic verses and Hadith prohibiting stigmatisation of survivors, appealing to communities to adhere to their religious guidance in treating survivors of gender-based violence. He added that those who engage in stigmatisation are no different from the perpetrators of GBV.
Earlier, the Chairman of Shiroro Local Council, Isiyaku Hakimi, represented by Alhaji Tanko Muhammad, praised the organisers and urged donors and development partners, as well as religious groups, to assist the survivors. He promised that the local council will continue to do its utmost to provide unwavering support to the survivors.
Highlights of the workshop included testimonies by some survivors who recounted the horrifying experiences they endured during captivity, while calling for compensation to alleviate their suffering.
