A committee saddled with the responsibility of observing and monitoring the implementation of the Cross River State Violence Against Persona Prohibition law 2021 has been set up in Cross River State. CalabarParrot can authoritatively report.
The committee made up of CSOs, and representatives from the Cross River State Ministry of Justice was set up during an event recently held in Calabar, the state capital, as part of the press conference on Cross River State VAPP Law Implementation, Safeguarding against Violence, Abuse and Exploitation of Girls and Women. The event was organized by the Youth Alive Foundation Abuja under the SAVE Project, sponsored by the Commonwealth and anchored by Girls Power Initiative (GPI) in the state.
The VAPP Act, originally introduced at the federal level in Nigeria in 2015 and adopted in Cross River State in 2021, is designed to protect the rights of women and girls by prohibiting various forms of violence, including sexual offenses. However, despite the law's domestication in 2021, the state has yet to establish a Sex Offenders Register, as mandated by the legislation.
During the briefing, Bassey Otop Esq., representing the Cross River State Ministry of Justice and BRCI, explained that some operational bottlenecks, such as staff training and equipping the office, have caused delays in setting up the Sex Offenders Register.
However, Ann A. Awah Esq. of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) disagreed slightly, stating that the issue lay with the Cross River State Ministry of Justice, not the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), as suggested by Otop.
According to Awah, the VAPP Act assigns NAPTIP the responsibility of managing the Sex Offenders Register, but during the public hearing for the law's domestication in the state, it was recommended that the Ministry of Justice in the state oversee this register. Awah emphasized that the Ministry of Justice is better positioned due to its involvement in prosecution, court hearings, correctional centers, and direct access to information related to these cases.
Awah further disclosed that a previous visit to the former Attorney General of the state had resulted in a promise to establish the office when sufficient funds became available.
In response to these challenges, Bassey called on the development community to provide financial support to the state in establishing the Sex Offenders Register.
Establishing the Sex Offenders Register is critical for effectively tracking and monitoring individuals convicted of sexual offenses, thereby enhancing the safety and protection of vulnerable individuals, especially women and girls, in Cross River State.