CDHR tasks state on consultation
The Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) has led over 500 women groups and communities on a walk, in protest against the Lagos State Government’s suspension of safe pregnancy abortion laws.
The walk, according to WARDC, was intended to persuade Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to end the moratorium on the state’s safe abortion standards for medical reasons.
The Centre, which urged the governor to save women from preventable deaths, lamented that 24 per cent of maternal deaths recorded in Nigeria were as a result of unsafe abortions, with Lagos State having the highest figure of the statistics.
It said that unsafe abortion remains the leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in Nigeria.
Director of WARDC, Dr Abiola Akiyode, who led the protest, called on the governor not to play politics with the lives of women and claimed that more than 10 per cent of global maternal deaths occur in Lagos State.
Akiyode also said that maternal mortality had increased within the state due to unhealthy abortion methods, adding: “Because there are no laws guiding abortion in the state, we cannot actively take action against those quacks and help victims of rape and sexual exploitation to seek proper medical attention thereby costing them their lives.”
In the same vein, child rights activist and social crusader, Kikelomo Oduyebo, said that restoration of the abortion guidelines was necessary.
MEANWHILE, the Centre for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has called for more engagement and conventions before implementation of policies that have a direct impact on the citizens.
The human rights group said that a healthy engagement would create trust and improve relationships between the government and the governed.
The call was made, yesterday, during the maiden edition of Citizens Accountability and Rights Forum (CARF) at the Rights House, Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, with the theme: “Lagos State Environmental Laws: Implications and Effects on Human and Socio-economic Rights of the People.”
The citizens, at the meeting, raised concerns about how the Ministry of Environment and its agencies have been operating in Lagos State and also raised questions about how the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) has been managing wastes, and how the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency’s (LASEPA) operations have been affecting the livelihoods of citizens.
President of CDHR, Debo Adeniran, who is also the Chairman of Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), said: “We have keenly looked at the various government policies in the state and noticed that there is an urgent need to create an avenue where the implementers and the beneficiaries of such policies would look at how to harmonise different opinions on policies that are being implemented in the state.”
On his part, the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, who was represented by the spokesperson of the ministry, Kunle Adesina, tasked Lagosians with the need to prioritisethe protection of the environment and the rights to a healthy and sustainable living environment.
