*** Allege serial violations of women’s rights in Kogi
A coalition of over 100 feminist Civil Society Organisations, has asked the United Nations to immediately withdraw its commendation of Kogi State governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello as “gender-friendly” for appointing an all female deputy Local Government Area chairpersons across the state.
In a letter dated 29 January, 2012, which was addressed the UN Resident Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, the group under the aegis of Feminist Womanifest, said a retraction of Mr. Bello’s endorsement became necessary as it would help to acknowledge the pains of victims of sexual and gender-based violence in Kogi and Nigeria.
The protest letter which was signed by Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Co- Convener Feminist Womanifesto, on behalf of the 100 CSOs cataloged a legion of women politicians and personalities who had allegedly suffered at the hands of the Kogi State governor and his goons.
“The implication of this endorsement or commendation for a politician who is currently a governor are as follows: That the UN is celebrating a Governor who:i. has publicly stated that the COVID-19 Vaccine is meant to kill people; emerged as Governor in a controversial election which saw his political opponents such as Ms. Natasha Akpoti being threatened with violence and which saw another female member of an opposing political party, Mrs. Salome Abuh, burnt to death in her own house by thugs; has continued to implicitly support a Commissioner in his cabinet who has an ongoing case of sexual assault of a woman in Kogi State,” the group lamented.
It further berated the Kogi State government’s refusal to “domesticate the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 thereby failing to provide legal protections for vulnerable women and children in Kogi State.
“We also call on the United Nations Office in Nigeria and UN Women to support some of the women groups working to provide gender-based violence support services for the women of Kogi State, especially those working on some of the cases highlighted above.
“It is important that the United Nations Office in Nigeria and UN Women is seen to have done its best to protect human rights and foster the empowerment of Nigerian women and to do this in a manner which protects the United Nations brand while remaining faithful to the UN Charter.
“We call on the United Nations Office in Nigeria and UN Women to urgently and publicly take steps to deal with this perception that the Governor has been endorsed by the United Nations,” the group advised.
The Feminist Womanifesto, a coalition of civil society organisations working for the realisation of women’s rights in Nigeria, expressed its “dismay at the UN Women’s letter to the Kogi State Governor dated 26 January 2021, commending the Governor of Kogi State for recently appointing women as deputy chairpersons in all the 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kogi State”.
