By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
Dr. Aisha Bala Mohammed, the wife of Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed has commended the effort of the State Action Committee on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) for its commitment in mitigating SGBV in the State.
The First Lady also disclosed that so far, the committee has secured over 70 convictions for culprits that were associated with such crimes in the State, which according to her, will serve as a deterrent to others.
Dr. Aisha Mohammed, who also doubles as the Chairperson of the Committee, disclosed this in her office during an interactive session she had with a select group of Journalists on Tuesday 12th November, 2024.
She revealed that the committee also provides shelter, psychosocial support and accelerated medical care to victims of SGBV with a view to having them reintegrated back into the society to continue with their normal life.
The Chairperson also disclosed that not all cases of SGBV are taken to the courts because of their gravity. According to her, some of the cases are just mere domestic issues resulting from the harsh economic conditions and that such cases were resolved by the committee without necessarily taking it to the court. “We resolve such minor issues through empowering the couples to support their families, with a stern warning to the husbands to live up to their responsibilities as heads of their households”.
While narrating the nature of some of the cases that came before the committee, the first lady said, “Some of the cases, especially the sexual related ones are so disturbing. We had a case of a father impregnating his biological daughter twice. It beats all sense of reasoning how some human beings have degenerated into monsters. The rapes within the family circles are also another cankerworm that societies are being faced with. The victims of such rapes are not the girls alone, but the boys fall victims too”.
The Chairperson attributed the moral decadence that leads to such dastard acts to fall in social norms and values at the family level, as well as the society at large.
She also identified illiteracy in both conventional and religious teachings as another factor that triggers some of the crimes associated with SGBV.
“I want to strongly suggest that the media should be always be engaged when such cases comes up for hearing in courts. By giving such cases visibility, in my opinion, it would serves the dual purpose of shaming the culprits and bringing some kind of foreclosure and succour to victims. It also serves as deterrent to others of like minds”, Dr. Aisha Mohammed said.
Our correspondent reports that, the Bauchi State Action Committee on SGBV membership was from relevant State MDAs, Professional bodies, CSOs, Police, Civil Defence, Community Resource Persons, FBOs, CBOs etc, and, it is being chaired by the State First Lady and domiciled in the office of the Secretary to the State Government.