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UK-funded programme, NJI advance women, peace, security in Nigeria’s justice sector (Page 466)

By Angela Atabo

The Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG) Programme has deepened collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI) to advance Women, Peace and Security (WPS) principles across Nigeria’s justice sector.

Dr Ukoha Ukiwo, Team Lead,of the Tetra Tech SPRiNG Programme, made this known at a Capacity Strengthening Workshop on Women, Peace and Security Agenda with judicial stakeholders in Abuja.

According to Ukiwo, the SPRiNG programme, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in collaboration with NJI, supported the capacity-strengthening engagement.

He said that the adoption of Nigeria’s Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP III) provided a timely opportunity to institutionalise WPS norms within judicial processes to advance justice.

He said that at the end of the day, access to justice was what mattered.

“So, we are happy to note that with the adoption of the National Action Plan, there is this opportunity to ensure that we work with key actors in the justice sector.

“This is to ensure that the principles of women, peace and security is embedded in all processes and principles of the justice system itself.

“For us, this is a starting point, engaging with the NJI, which plays a major role in research and in training and development of justice officers.

“They will be able to see how they can embed WPS principles within the training curriculum of the justice sector, and also use it, even in terms of the policies they are framing, the processes to ensure that WPS principles are also embedded in them.''

Ukiwo described the move as a milestone, and expressed hope that at the end of the day, WPS norms and principles would be mainstreamed into key judicial processes, especially in terms of how they deliver justice.

In her presentation, Amina Akano-Bello, SPRiNG’s Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Lead, underscored the Judiciary’s pivotal role in implementing NAP III across its five pillars, particularly participation, protection, prosecution, and accountability.

Akano-Bello said that the engagement aimed to identify priority entry points and the development of a roadmap to strengthen the Judiciary’s contribution to WPS outcomes.

She said that it also included advancing women’s leadership within the justice sector and integrating WPS principles across justice institutions.

Akano-Bello said that discussions focused on strengthening judicial understanding and application of WPS commitments, particularly in relation to access to justice, and protection of women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence.

She said that it also aimed to end impunity through effective, timely, and gender-responsive justice delivery, including responses to conflict-related sexual violence.

Akano-Bello said that the Judiciary's engagement formed part of SPRiNG’s broader WPS programming across conflict-affected states like Niger, Benue, Kaduna, Katsina, and Plateau states.

Also speaking, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Vice Chair, Esther Eghobamien, called for urgent reforms and stronger judicial responses to emerging security and justice challenges.

Eghobamien listed the challenges to include kidnapping, trafficking, technology-facilitated crimes and sexual and gender-based violence.

“We need a legal framework that criminalises ransom and abduction,'' she said.

She said that while the laws may not yet fully reflect this reality, the judiciary had a powerful role to play in shaping the legal landscape through judgments that protect victims and deter future crimes.

She pointed to the need for a specialised system of “speech trials,” to protect those who may face threats or retaliation for speaking out, particularly in cases related to sexual and gender-based violence.

The vice-chair’s remarks also drew attention to the growing threat of technology-facilitated crimes, including online scams that disproportionately affect women entrepreneurs, and urged that the judiciary be equipped to address them.

Representing the NJI, Ms Adaeze Oby-Aziwe, a Management Staff, commended SPRiNG for the initiative and welcomed the collaboration.

“I want to say that our focus today is action-oriented.

"Beyond the discussion, we aim to agree on practical steps and develop an operational action plan that will guide our subsequent engagements,'' she said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

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UK-funded programme, NJI advance women, peace, security in Nigeria’s justice sector (Page 466)