The Federal Government has introduced mobile courts and established new guidelines for hotels and schools to ensure swift justice in cases of gender-based violence, sexual assault, and bullying.
The announcement was made by Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the Minister of Women Affairs, during a partnership meeting in Abuja with various stakeholders.
The stakeholders present included representatives from the ministries of health and education, medical facilities, hotel owners, NGOs, and CSOs.
Kennedy-Ohanenye highlighted the urgent need for these measures, citing the rising instances of sexual and gender-based violence, child abuse, child labor, harmful practices, and prison overcrowding in Nigeria.
She expressed concern over cases of exposure to alcohol and even death in hotels and bullying/sexual molestation in schools.
The minister also criticized hospitals for refusing to treat gunshot patients without police reports.
She stated, “The enactment of legislation ushering in mobile courts would curtail such menace.”
“The new guidelines will include the placement of signposts in hotels, hospitals, schools, and NGOs to prohibit actions that encourage gender-based violence,” she added.
Additionally, the minister said toll-free numbers will be provided for people to report violations.
Kennedy-Ohanenye emphasized that the goal of the mobile courts is to increase the speed of deployment and dispensation of justice, enhance the efficiency of case trials, and eliminate harmful practices.
She added that these courts will help reduce child labor, the number of out-of-school children, and the employment of underage house help.
“They will also address the issue of using babies for begging.”
“The mobile courts will usher in a new era of operational methods in hotels, hospitals, schools, and NGOs,” Kennedy-Ohanenye concluded.
Mobile courts, designed to be easily relocated, will be used to adjudicate disputes and administer justice more efficiently.
