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  • OPD restates commitment to protecting women, children against violence

    OPD restates commitment to protecting women, children against violence

    The Director, Office of the Public Defenders(OPD) Mrs Olubunmi Adesomoju has restated its determination to continue to protect women, children and other indigent members of the society against violence.

    “For us in OPD, part of our duties is to ensure that we provide free legal representation for those who are indigents and vulnerable in our midst, especially women and children and those who are living with any form of disability. So, Lagos state is flying the banner high to ensure that we protect the rights of women and children”, she said.

    Mrs Adesomoju gave this assurance on Friday while commemorating “Orange The World” as part of the 16 days of activism declared by the United Nations raise awareness about ending violence against women and children as well as celebrating the Human Rights Day.

    The 16 days of activism which started all over the world on November 25 ended today, December 10.

    The advocacy campaign which started from the Surulere office of the OPD, took them through Ojuelegba, Costain, Apapa Road, Oyingbo, Ebute Metta, Adekunle, Makoko, Onike, Yaba, Ojuelegba road back to their office.

    “Orange the World is used to express a beautiful and upright world. It is the United Nations day to celebrate and raised awareness about ending violence against women and children as well as celebrating the Human Rights Day.

    “So it is where everyone, all institutions of government, both, local and international, they joined the world to celebrate this Orange the World, program.

    “So, that is why we, the OPD is celebrating, commemorating and joining the world to raise advocacy on violence against women and children as well as against all the people who are under privileged in the society, the vulnerable and the indigents within our society.

    “We have to do advocacy on ending violence because our women and children are very precious to us.”

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    The OPD Director explained that all institutions of government were engaged in marking the day. It is 16 days of activism, and every one of them pick a day within those days, to mark the day. So, Nigeria is on top of it, celebrating it with the rest of the world and, ensuring that the rights of everyone, indigents and the vulnerable within our society is protected.”

    Asked about the stand of the agency for women, Mrs Adesomoju explained that the agency has been able to stand up for and protect the right of the women successfully within the society.

    “The United Nations has several days where they ensure that the rights of women are protected. So, definitely, we as OPD, we ensure that we protect the rights of our women, including all their social economic rights, we ensure that we protect it”, she said

    Speaking on their activities in OPD, Mrs Adesomoju said, “what we do is to ensure that we bring advocacy, information to the people, and ensure that the public is sensitized about their lives.

    “We fight for families and the society, The family front is protected within the society. So our doors are open to any kind of incidents that happens within our society and ensure that we protect the rights of those who are affected by it.

    On their expectation after the advocacy journey, she said, “ we expect people to know more about OPD and what they do. We protect the socio-economic rights of all the citizens, especially the vulnerable and indigents.

    “Then we want people to know that we also protect the labor rights. We protect the rights of the people, families that have issues that have to do with maintenance, custody, and, access to their children. We do that as well. Pension rights, insurance claims, we do that.

    “We do, rescue mission where there are abused women and children within our society.

    “So we want people to know what we do as an agency. We want them to know that the government has set up this place, so that people can walk in and get free service.

    ‘Our services are free. So people will know that OPD exists. Not just OPD, all our agencies exist to ensure that their rights are protected.

    “That’s part of what we want to achieve, and that is why we are going out on the roads to carry out the sensitization of the public.”

    On the cases handled during the year, she said not less than 3,000 to 4,000 of them are positive.

    “When people come to us, it starts with mediation. We try to hear you out and, try to see if we can settle the mstter without going to court. It is when we are unable to settle the matter, that we end up in court.”

    She described the success rate of OPD as monumental.

    “Regarding the statistics on the judgment, this year alone, we had about 300 judgments on behalf of our parties, which are the defenders. We have gotten 300 of them released this year so far. “OPD is working very assiduously in ensuring that we protect the interest of our clients, both in the criminal and in the civil aspect of their cases”, she said.

  • Victims of sexual violence will get justice, OPD vows

    Victims of sexual violence will get justice, OPD vows

    The Director, Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Mrs Olubunmi Adesomoju, has assured victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) of the readiness of her agency to get justice for them.

    She urged victims of sexual and domestic violence not to cover up for anyone but to come up and file reports so that they could get justice,

    The OPD director stated this during a sensitisation of the people carried to the nooks and crannies of Lagos on Friday as part of the activities marking the United Nations “International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women”, The theme was “ Orange the World: #No Excuse”

    The road trip took them through Ojuelegba, Lawanson. Itire, Okota and  back through Masha, back to Ojuelegba environment  to ensure that the immediate environment know about their activities.

     ”We know SGBV is a menace in the society and we at the OPD, we are to ensure justice for every one of the victims, men , women and children. As many victims of SGBV are free to come into our office to talk about it and ask for our help.

    “We are collaborators with the DSVA to ensure that every woman, every man. every child that suffers GBV have access to justice.”

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    Adesomoju explained that the 16 days of  activism was “a UN initiative designed to sensitise the public about SGBV. The 16 days of activism which starts from November 25 and ends December 10 which is to eliminate violence against women, men and children is the Human Rights Day. So, all the institutions that have the mandate to ensure the protection of human rights, come up with different activities to ensure that we sensitise the public and advocate that we end violence against women and children.

    “That is what we are doing. We are joining the world to let them know that it is a No, No to SGBV, there is no excuse. So, no excuse for any form of SGBV against women and  the girl child.

    “So, don’t say this is how she is dressed, she deserves to be raped or defiled. No. Or that she is a very stubborn woman, I have to beat her up. No. That is why we are out there to say No to SGBV. 

    “Nobody deserves to be raped, nobody deserves to be violated , nobody deserves to be maltreated in any form, whether physically, psychologically, financially. Any form of abuse is a No, No”, She stressed.

    She said her department collaborates and works with  many private organisations to fight the menance. When a child is defiled or a woman is raped, there are so many institutions that we collaborate with to ensure that they carry out medical examination in a bid to ensure that the matters are properly prosecuted in court and it is the office of the DPP that prosecutes. 

    “We ensure that there is a follow up with the victims to ensure that all that is needed to pursue their case and ensure Justice for them are done as well,”

    She said the OPD and other collaborating agencies are all first responders in the fight against SCBV.

    “So, when they come to us, we find out what the issue is and we ensure that the case is incidented at the Police station, and the Police carry out relevant investigation and all the medical investigation are also carried out, and we go out after them.

    “We are not prosecutors, but we provide defence for as many people as require defence. We ensure that we follow up, to ensure that Police carry out relevant investigation and pass all to the office of the DPP for prosecution. They come to us as first responders and we give supportive role because we can’t prosecute. This process is completely free of charge. 

    “We provide free and quality service at OPD to people that are violated  and the vulnerables.

    “Our mandate principally is to provide legal representation to the indigent and vulnerable in the society and women and the child are considered as vulnerables members of the society.

    “Even people that are living with disabilities are vulnerable members of the society. People who have suffered abuse are vulnerable members of the society. We are here to ensure that everybody gets their rights and are protected and their dignity to be protected too.

    The OPD director lamented stigmatization of the victims of sexual violence.

    “This is why in our advocacy and sensitization ,  we are letting people know that if you don’t come out. other people are going to suffer the same fate. So, it is important for them to come out.

    Yes, there might be stigmatisation, there are other agencies of government that also carry out a form of counselling for people that goes through this phase so that they would be able to overcome it.

    “Stigmatisation is there, it would still be with us. But the person who have been affected needs to understand that “ it’s beyond you if you don’t say something”, other people will suffer.

    So, it is important for you to know that you can get over stigmatisation through counselling.

    Just speak out and it would reduce the menace of GBV in the society”, she said.

     On measures put in place to assist victims, she said her department counsel them adding “we have therapists, we have people and social workers  in-house who counsel them and let them understand that you may be afraid but there is succour for them. People who have gone through this trauma before are usually very scared. They deal with so much more than you may not be aware.” 

    She noted that some people pull out and that there must be a reason why they want to pull out adding “It may be because of threats, it may be because of personal trauma. We counsel them and we make them to understand that ‘its beyond you’.  The person will get away with this if you don’t speak out. That it is going to happen to other people as well if you don’t speak out.

    We try to encourage them to follow up with the process. and a lot of them they usually comply. 

     Asked where victims can report sexual violence, she said the OPD has seven centres in Lagos as and annexes.

    “Any victim can walk into these agencies regardless of whether you are a Lagosian or not, as long as you reside in Lagos state, you can walk into any of these centre and as long as you are an indigent because we believe that it is for those who cannot have legal representation and vulnerable.

    “We have offices in Ajah, Epe, Ikorodu, Ajegunle, Ogba,  as annexes are in Agege and Alimosho and headquarters in Surulere.”