By Rita Iliya

The Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) says it will train some of its qualified members to provide psychosocial support to the 27 abducted victims recently rescued in Niger.

Hajiya Kulu Abdullahi, the Amirah of FOMWAN in Niger, said this during a one-day sensitisation workshop on the religious perspective in the prevention of double victimisation of survivors in Minna.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the victims rescued on July 3 by the police were abducted sometime in February 2024.

Some of the female victims returned with advanced pregnancies and infants believed to have been fathered by their abductors.

The training was done in partnership with Development Research and Project Centre (dRPC) supported by Ford Foundation.

Abdullahi said that the programme, which incorporated perspectives from both islamic and Christian faiths sought to address the stigma and trauma the survivors were going through.

She added that the aim was to reintegrate the victims into the society.

“Traditionally, we know that when gender-based violence or kidnap victims are rescued, they face difficulty reintegrating into their families and communities.

“Therefore, the training is to show empathy and create a safe space for the survivors.

“These victims have suffered trauma and now face stigma from their people, hence the need to guide them and support them to reintegrate them into the society,” she said.

She said the training included perspectives from both Islamic and Christian faiths to encourage officials to approach rehabilitation with a strong moral and religious foundation.

Malam Hassan Aliyu, Director of Partnership and Communication in the dRPC, said fear of stigmatisation had caused some rescued victims to consider returning to their abductors.

He said there was need to engage religious leaders and training of service providers to understand how religion could be used to tackle stigma and promote the acceptance of survivors.

“If a service provider understands that their faith has made provision on how to handle and take care of survivors, it will become easy for them to seamlessly integrate them back to their communities,” he said.

He added that the training was to ensure that the survivors do not face double victimisation first from the hands of their abductors and from their people after reuniting with them.

Aliyu disclosed that religious and community leaders in the local government areas where the victims come from would be trained to deepen the impact of the psychosocial support.

Also, Hajiya Mairo Mann, Permanent Secretary, Niger Ministry of Justice, commended the organisers for the timely intervention and urged a victim’s spouse support to help the victim. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joe Idika