Worried by the gruesome murder of the Labour Party women leader, Victoria Chintex on November 28, 2022, and other politically motivated killings across the country, Civil Society Organisations have called on the presidency to declares a national state of emergency on political violence, sending a strong message of zero tolerance against any form of violence, and clearly communicating actions that will be taking against perpetrators.
The CSOs which included: Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF); ElectHER; DAI; Yiaga Africa; The Albino Foundation (TAF); International Press Center (IPC); The Kukah Center; IMS; Civil Society Legislative Advocacy (CISLAC); CAPPA; JDPMC and SOS Children Village, also want the presidency to set up a joint task force committee on the safety of women as candidates and electorates.
The statement said the the task force should comprise of relevant security agencies should be set up within the next two weeks, with commitment to release a publicly accessible comprehensive prevention and emergency response action plan on all forms of violence against women in the 2023 general elections.
“While we commend the current provisions in the 2022 Electoral Act which condemns violence in elections and states penalties for infractions at 12 months jail term or a maximum term of N500,000, we recommend stricter sanctions with more severe implications as a demotivating factor to discourage the indulgence of political violence.
“An immediate ratification of the Violence Against Person’s Prohibition (VAPP) Act in states where the law has not been domesticated in Nigeria and also call the attention of the states who have domesticated the law, to effectively implement same, as this this law covers all forms of violence.”
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