2023 FIDA LAGOS LAW WEEK CONCLUDES ON A HIGH NOTE WITH KNOWLEDGE SESSION AND DINNER

The climax of the 2023 Law Week of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Lagos Chapter, began with an Opening Ceremony on October 30, 2023 at the Nigerian International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos.

NEWSWIRE Law & Events Magazine’s correspondent in Lagos reports that the event was, expectedly, graced by legal luminaries and other dignitaries from far and wide, among them the representative of the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs. Tomi Bodunde. Others included Mrs. Chinwe Efobi (Chairperson FIDA, Lagos); Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN, who chaired the Opening Ceremony; Tobenna Erojikwe, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) Institute of Continuing Legal Studies (ICLE), who served as the Chairman of the Dinner; and Mrs. Uwa Ohiku (the Keynote Speaker). Others who also graced the event were Mrs. Titi Akinlawon, SAN, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN; the FIDA Nigeria Country Vice-President/National President Mrs. Amina Agbaje (who was represented by Mrs. Eliana Martins); Prof. Virgy Ebelechukwu Onyene, and Mrs. Joyce Oduah (the immediate past National General Secretary of the NBA).

Both the Chairperson of the Law Week Planning Committee, Mrs. Ada Madu and the FIDA Lagos Chairperson, Mrs. Chinwe Efobi made opening welcome speeches in which they outlined the aims and objectives of the organization, as well as the programs, projects and projections of FIDA Lagos.
The Opening Ceremony was moderated by Uchenna Nwadialo, Alternate Chairperson Law Week Planning Committee.

In his address, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN noted that violence against women and girls was a violation of human rights, and that a victim of gender-based violence (GBV) was unlikely to be productive in the society. The cultural habit of stigmatizing the victims of gender-based violence, he asserted, has deterred many victims from speaking out, thereby allowing the problem to fester in society. The learned silk, who is a former Chairman of the NBA Lagos branch, also emphasized the need for data collection and analysis of reports of gender-based violence in Nigeria.

Mrs. Bodunde, the representative of the Lagos AG, delivered a goodwill message on behalf of the AG, in which she noted that GBV (as referenced by Ikwuazom) affects everyone, irrespective of culture or tribe, and that sexual and emotional abuse, as well as sexual harassment, all amount to GBV, stressing that it is a phenomenon that threatens our progress as a nation. She called for perpetrators to be held accountable for their actions and for all relevant stakeholders to ensure that victims get justice.

Also speaking, the Chairperson of the NBA Women Forum (NBAWF), Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha called for mutual respect between the genders, without which, she said, societal progress was impossible.

Her call was echoed by Dr. Inkem Boerner, a member of the German Council, who situated mutual respect within the context of fundamental human rights. The representative of Mrs. Amina Agbaje (Mrs. Eliana Martins) also delivered a goodwill message on her behalf, after which the ceremony was declared open by the former NBA Lagos Branch Chairman.

In her much-anticipated Keynote, Mrs. Uwa Ohiku began on a personal note, narrating her growing up experience. Her father, she said, was a staunch protector of the girl-child rights – a situation which has had a salutary effect on her today. On the converse side, she notes with dismay the rate at which women are being killed as a result of GBV; the youngest victim, she recalled, was an eight-month-old baby, and the oldest, a 75-year-old woman. The Keynote Speaker reiterated the need for our girls to be taught how to be confident, as well as the need to raise our sons in a respectful manner. She also called for a cultural paradigm shift in which women are welcomed back to their maiden family homes when they return (or flee) from failed or abusive marriages instead of being sent back, willy-nilly, sometimes without any questions asked.

Always a compelling speaker, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN defined GBV, quoting the Council of European Union Convention, as any act that is likely to result in the physical suffering of women, or any form of harm perpetrated as a result of a person’s gender. He noted how the birth of a male child is highly celebrated in some parts of the world while girls’ are not – a situation which, he said, results in the impression of the dominance of the male child, while messing up a girl’s self-esteem. The learned silk challenged FIDA to collaborate with the National Ministry of Women Affairs in a bid to get the correct data and statistics database that can capture accurately the figures of GBV violence. In this respect, Adegboruwa noted that Section 34 of the Nigerian Constitution states that every citizen is entitled to be treated with dignity, and that widows or orphans are also victims (or potential victims) of GBV – among whose causes he enumerated to include poverty, conflict and wars, stress in the home due to economic factors and the transfer of aggression. This atmosphere of violence, he asserted, has helped in the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well as gender stigmatization and ostracization.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also gave the preventive measures to include: education, data collection, early intervention programs (such as the naming and shaming of sexual offenders, an initiative, it would be recalled, of the former First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; training programs for professionals, legal reforms and community engagements). Adegboruwa noted that over 39% of women experience violence before the age of 15, and called on relevant stakeholders to take steps to eradicate any behaviors that consign women to an inferior station in life. The legal luminary recommended a partnership between FIDA and the legislature at federal and state levels in making laws that stem violence against women.

On her part, Prof. Virgy Ebelechukwu Onyene admonished the society to stop encouraging girls to look out for rich men to date or marry as that in itself is an invitation to GBV. She also noted that GBV starts with people hating one another, especially women.

Congratulating FIDA on the success of her Law Week, another speaker, Mr. Olumide Kayode insisted that there could not be a meaningful discussion of domestic violence without mention of GBV, as well as the roles of religion, illiteracy, and poverty. He noted that one in every four marriages would end in divorce in 2 years, according to current studies (and this includes so-called Christian marriages). He lamented that women are being killed by their partners every year. Sexual violence, he disclosed, happens mostly in uncompleted buildings or in perpetrators’ homes, and called on families or cultures that send victims back to their abusive marriages to desist, calling such a practice a violation of fundamental human rights. God hates divorce, he acknowledged, but that victims of GBV are more likely to develop bad behavior within the marriage – which makes divorce even more likely. Kayode concluded his intervention by commending the Lagos State Government for establishing Family Courts, but called for the seating frequency in these Courts to be increased from just once a week, as is presently the case. He also canvassed for more Judges and magistrates in the state.

NEWSWIRE correspondent reports that the ceremony came to a close with the much-anticipated FIDA Law Week Dinner, which was chaired by Tobenna Erojikwe, Chair of the NBA-ICLE. Among other items on its packed program, the event featured the presentation of plaques to the respective speakers, against the backdrop of fine dining and wining, as well as mellow music, as guests explored networking opportunities.

The Dinner came to a close (bringing to an end the events of a highly impactful week of celebration following the vote of thanks by Ada Mmadu, Chairman of the Law Week Dinner Planning Committee.