Lagos State government said it had in the last one year handled a total of 4,035 cases ranging from rape, child abuse, sexual assault, sexual abuse, defilement, divorce, matrimonial issues and child’s custody and maintenance.
This was just as it vowed not to shy away from prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence crime no matter how highly placed in the society.
The State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, disclosed this on Tuesday, during a press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, while speaking on the activities of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) in the last one year.
“As we all know the issues of gender violence, violence against children and all forms of inhuman treatment against the less privileged has been a very critical issue for Governor Ambode. Right from when he was sworn in, he had said that this issue was going to be something he would pursue with passion and diligence. He has since then given support to the DSVRT, Office of Public Defender (OPD) and all other related agencies, including the Police Force to fight this scourge in other that it should be eliminated,” the Attorney General said.
He added that, “No matter how highly placed you are in the society, if you commit any domestic violence crime, Lagos State will go after you and prosecute you in court.”
According to Kazeem, the statement government, through the agency, equally handled a total of 192 cases, saying 89 out of them had to do with domestic violence cases, 62 involving defilement while 18 cases were in respect of rape.
He said six attempted rape cases were equally handled, with 10 having to do with child neglect, while seven were in respect child abuse cases, adding that all the 92 cases were presently being heard in court.
He said agencies of government, including DSVRT, OPD and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), among others, had been mandated to ensure that while perpetrators of the act were brought to justice, victims of domestic violence were given succour towards their rehabilitation.
“All the victims of sexual assault received medical attention from Mirabel Centre and State Hospitals, and so far, 50 of such cases were charged to court,” he said, adding that the DSVRT would on Friday, June 3, hold a free clinic for victims of domestic violence, rape at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa Secretariat.
