The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Akwa Ibom State Command, has sensitized its officers and men on the need to eradicate every form of sexual exploitation and abuse of female migrants in border communities.
The State Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Francisca Dakat, gave the charge while declaring open a two-day sensitization workshop for officers and men of the command at Four Points By Sheraton in Ikot Ekpene.
Dakat informed the personnel that the workshop was aimed at creating awareness and equipping them with the knowledge of mainstreaming projects, particularly the Modernizing of Nigeria Immigration Service (MoNIS).
She stated that gender mainstreaming aimed to integrate men’s and women’s interests into all stages of planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs through deliberate policies. The objective was to ensure gender equality and equity in the workplace, providing equal opportunities for male and female personnel in recruitment, deployment, and training.
“This sensitization workshop is intended to equip you with knowledge on NIS Gender Policies, frameworks on Gender Issues, and how to deal with Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Sexual Exploitation, and Abuse (SEA). So, I urge you to take full advantage of this privilege and make the best out of this opportunity that has been graciously presented by the Service in partnership with the International Center for Migration Policy Development,” Dakat said.
The Comptroller emphasized that the Nigeria Immigration Service has invested significantly in human resource development, especially in the areas of Migration Management and Border Management. She commended the Acting Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Ag. CGIS Caroline Adepoju, and the implementation partner, International Centre for Migration Policy and Development (ICMPD), for extending the sensitization workshop to the command.
In her welcome address, Deputy Comptroller Immigration, Adekemi Ojo, NIS – ICMPD Focal Person, highlighted that gender mainstreaming was an essential aspect of development that recognizes the different needs of men and women in society. She stressed that the project aimed to integrate gender-related issues into policies, programs, and activities to ensure equal access to resources and opportunities for men and women.
Ojo stated that sexual exploitation and abuse were serious issues affecting both men and women, boys and girls, worldwide. The sensitization workshop was organized to address these issues and strive towards reducing or eradicating them whenever possible.
“As officers and men of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), we shall also remind ourselves of our code of conduct and ethics as it relates to sexual exploitation and abuse. As major players in the field, it is important that we are knowledgeable in all of these areas to ensure we do not fall victim and we operate within the rules of engagement of the Service. We hope that at the end of the sensitization workshop, we would all have gained insights and knowledge that will enable us to take proactive action in implementing gender mainstreaming practices in different formations and spheres of influence,” Ojo said.
She urged the participants to pay attention to the resource persons so that they would become more aware of the negative impacts of sexual exploitation and abuse and be better equipped to tackle them in their various communities and workplaces.
The resource person, Dr Eddy Akpomera, spoke on the topic “The Imperativeness of Gender Mainstreaming and Key Pointers in NIS Gender Policy.” He explained that gender mainstreaming aimed at equity and fairness, emphasizing that fairness must come before equality can be attained.
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