Institute hands over GBV case management document to Ogun govt

The Hauge Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) had handed over a Gender Based Violence management document to the Ogun State Government, as part of effort to scale up protection for survivors of domestic violence

The intervention plan codenamed “Ibi Isadi”, which literally means place of refuge, was put together to ensure that victims of domestic violence have access to meaningful justice.

The country’s representative of HiiL, Ijeoma Nwafor, described “Ibi Isadi” as a one-stop-shop intervention plan conceptualised to reduce the menace of GBV to the barest minimum, as it afforded victims to get justice even at no cost.

Nwafor added that victims of domestic violence required coordinated legal, medical and psychosocial support through a seamless and accessible justice system.

The Hiil representative called on the state government to build on the pilot programme in ensuring that victims of GBV in rural communities, local government and the state level have access to meaningful justice without financial burdens.

She revealed that over 15,000 reported cases GBV are documented annually in Ogun State, while adding that laws funding and policies had hitherto denied victims from getting justice on domestic violence.

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Nwafor informed that the “Ibi Isadi” initiative conforms with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) section 16.3, urging the state government to establish joint taskforce at the community, local and state levels to serve the interest of the victims towards ensuring offenders were to face justice. She added that the Institute determined to liberate no fewer than 150 million Nigerians from the shackle of domestic violence by year 2030.

The Chairman, Ogun State Access to Justice Committee, Hon. Justice Olugboyega Ogunfowora, urged the state government and other stakeholders to sustain and expand the justice reform initiatives introduced by the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), saying the intervention must not end with the departure of its promoters.

Ogunfowora, in his remarks during the ceremony, said the state had a responsibility to build on the achievements recorded since HiiL commenced its intervention in Ogun in 2021.

He described the handover as “not an ending” but “a graduation” and transfer of responsibility to local institutions, stressing that the initiative must be improved, expanded, institutionalised and scaled beyond what its promoters originally envisaged.

According to him, the ultimate test of the intervention would be its ability to make justice more accessible, responsive and humane for vulnerable members of society.

Ogunfowora, a former judge, recalled that when HiiL first introduced the concepts of access to justice and people-centred justice in Ogun State in 2021, he was among those who approached the initiative with caution.

The Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Hospital Management Board, Justice and Women Affairs and Social Development, in their respective remarks, described the initiative as a landmark achievement that marks the beginning of a stronger institutional response to protecting survivors and ensuring easier access to justice across the state.

They noted that the project represents a shift towards a people-centred justice system that prioritises the needs and dignity of survivors.