Osun State Government has been charged to implement the Violence Against Person Prohibition and Administrative Criminal Justice Laws in the state.

Concerned residents and nonprofit groups in the state during an awareness campaign at Orisunbare market in Osogbo, warned people in the state not to run afoul of the law.

A community leader in the state, Ejalonibu Ezekiel, said full implementation of the laws would curb incidents of Sexual Gender Based Violence in the state.

The Chairperson of Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Osun State chapter, Motunrayo Ayegbayo, also warned residents not to claim ignorant of the laws.

The Executive Director of Community Advancement Initiative for Self Reliance (CAI4SR), Mrs Eni Ayeni, appealed to the State Government to put mechanisms in place for the implementation of the laws without further delay.

In collaboration with Strengthen Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE), a USAID project, the Sexual Gender Based Justice Network (SJN), is partnering other groups in Osun to step up the campaign against SGBV.

At the flag-off of the campaign in Osogbo with #IMPLEMENTSGBVLAWS, Ayeni urged Osun State Government to do the needful by ensuring full implementation of the laws.

“We are calling on stakeholders to call on the government to carry out the implementation of this law. It is one thing to domesticate a law, it is another thing to implement it. We are calling on the government to do the implementation of this law.

“If the implementation is put in place, the survivors of SBGV would have a speedy justice delivery. Many people are not coming out to report cases because it takes a lot of time, several court proceedings before judgement would be served. But with this law in place, it will give room for shortness of proceedings.

“Previously, it takes like 5-10 years before court judgement would be delivered but with this law, it has given room for the shortness of that process. If the law is implemented, the survivors will get justice on time.

“This project started this year in Osun State. The VAPP law was passed in the state last year. The law is still fresh. So, the implementation should follow suit, that is why we are appealing to the government to implement the laws,” Ayeni stated.

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