The Niger State Government has warned that from now on, anyone who beats his or her spouse to a pulp in the state will be committed to a prison term by a court of competent jurisdiction and to a term of not less than three years in jail.
Speaking to Newsmen on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Sexual Harassment (SEASH) in Minna, the Director, Planning Research and Statistics, Niger State Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Mary Yisa, stated that the state now has robust legal, policy, and institutional frameworks for addressing gender-based violence (GBV).
While stressing that such spouses have options of a N200,000 fine, Yisa said, “The SEASH broadly encompasses physical, sexual, economic, psychological/emotional abuse/violence, including threats and coercion, and harmful practices that occur between individuals either at the place of work, within families, or in the community at large.”.
She explained that such violations also include sexual violence, domestic or intimate partner violence (IPV), human trafficking, forced and/or early marriage, and other traditional practices that might cause harm.”.
Accordingly, she said, “Niger State has robust legal, policy, and institutional frameworks for addressing GBV, which include the Violence Against Persons Prohibited Law and Child Rights Act, the penal code, Section 34 of the Constitution, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and other laws peculiar to the state at large, as well as Child Rights law.
“Niger State is also blessed with a bountiful of policies, such as integrated gender policy embedded with a 5-year strategic action plan (SAP), communication strategy and MnE framework, the Violence Against Person Prohibited (VAPP) Law, Standard Operational Procedure on Prevention, and response to GBV, amongst others.
“A person who batters his or her spouse commits offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand naira (N200,000) or both,” she declared.
Furthermore, Yisa noted that subsection 2 provides that “a person who attempts to commit the act of violence provided for in subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand naira (N100,000) or both.
“And a person who incites, aids, abets, or counsels another person to commit the act of violence as provided for in subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand naira (N200,000) or both.”