We are determined to quickly pass VAPP Bill in Kogi- Assembly assures

The Kogi State House of Assembly has reiterated its commitment in the speedy passage of Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP), bill in the state.

It was reliably gathered that the bill was at the Committee stage in the House as at the time of this report.

The Chairman, Joint Committee of Women Affairs and Judiciary, Barrister Cosmos Atabor, made the disclosure today, Wednesday November 25, when he received the sponsor of the bill, Challenged Parenthood Initiative, (CPI) in his office.

Our Kogi State Correspondent reports that the CPI team, was received on behalf of the Committee Chairman by the Deputy Clerk of the House, Alfa Ndagi.

They were told that the Assembly was working round the clock to see that the bill is passed into law and assented to by executive arm of government.

The Chairman explained further that the Committee held technical sessions for several weeks, where salient  issues about the bill were  raised and the opinion of various stakeholders  judiciously considered.

Atabor averred that the bill is left with three processes before it would be passed into law.

He however opined that the biggest hurdles to climb is the enforcement of the bill.

Earlier, the Executive Director, Challenged Parenthood Initiative, CPI, Eunice Abimbola Agbogun told the lawmaker that they were in his office to do a follow up on the bill, after a successful public hearing and to get firsthand information on the progress report of the bill.

While lauding the Kogi State House of Assembly for writing their names in gold like many other states who had passed the bill into law, Agbogun pointed out that the organization and its partners have continued to received positive feedback on the importance of the bill, to stop domestic and other related violence in the society.

Fresh Angle International understands that the Joint Committee of Women Affairs and Judiciary is expected to submit its report on the Floor of the Hallow Chamber in a couple of weeks.

It would be recalled that, twenty three out of the 36 states of the federation, are yet to domesticate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP Act, five years after the Act was signed into law.

The VAPP Act is a law that guarantees protection of the rights of victims of all forms of sexual and gender-based violence in the country.

Fifteen out of the 23 states, representing 65 percent, are Northern states, six representing 26 percent are in the Eastern region, while one is a South-Western state, according to data collected by an organization called TechHer.

The states are; Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Niger, Nassarawa and Taraba.

Others are Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Delta, Imo, Abia, Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom.

Only 13 states, including the FCT have domesticated the Act since it was enacted five years ago.

They are Kaduna, Plateau, FCT, Benue, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ogun, Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Cross River.

Signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on 2nd May 2015, the VAPP Act is the single law in place that transcends the criminal and penal code in guaranteeing justice and protecting the rights and properties of victims of sexual and gender-based violence across the country.

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