CEASE AND DESIST! STOP HARASSMENT OF WOMEN IN NIGERIA

30 April 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We the undersigned Women’s Organizations, Activists, Scholars, Civil Society and Human Rights Organisations in Nigeria, strongly condemn the recent raids, public humiliation, assault and sexual harassment and of over 100 women in Abuja by the agents of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Joint Task Team, which is comprised of the Department of Development Control, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and the Social Development Secretariat (SDS). These agents raided the “Caramelo night club” and other clubs on two different occasions within one week in Abuja (17^th and 26^th April). During the raids, they arrested several women, who reported that they had been sexually assaulted and sexually harassed, some who were raped. The assaults left injuries in the vaginas of some of the arrested women and many were psychologically traumatised by the experience.

It appears that the FCTA joint task team had unilaterally, and without respect for human rights, chose to contain any “environmental nuisance” the night club allegedly was causing to target and attack young women in the club, particularly dancers and strippers. The agents appeared to be specifically targeting women – while no male guests were arrested or harassed. In fact, several female guests in and around the night club were also targeted and harassed. Women were brutally dragged out by male officers who beat them, and some women were stripped naked. The violence inflicted on these women was vicious and targeted. They suffered this treatment because they were women and these officers were confident that they can get away with it.

We were further shocked by the reports that a mobile court at the old parade ground in Area 10, Abuja on the afternoon of 29^th April 2019, convicted many of these women in unfair trials and some of them were sentenced to prison or fined for an offence that is unknown to law.

Nigeria is signatory to many international and regional human rights treaties including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), which protects the human rights of women to dignity, equality, liberty and freedom from violence. The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act applicable in the FCT also prohibits all forms of violence against all persons irrespective of gender, and regardless of whether it was committed in private or in public, while stipulating punishments for offenders and remedies for victims. The 1999 Nigerian Constitution equally provides for fundamental human rights including the rights to dignity (section 34); right to fair hearing (section 36), and right to freedom from discrimination (section 42).

In October 2017, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in the Dorothy Njemanze & 3 Ors v. the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pronounced that the act of targeting women and harassing them by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and other state security agents constituted gender based discriminatory treatment, torture, cruel inhuman and degrading treatment. The Court also recognised that Nigeria has a duty to investigate, discipline and prosecute persons responsible for violating these human rights therefore, the failure or refusal to do so in the cases reported to it amounted to a further violation of the State’s international obligations.

These raids by the FCT Joint Task Force are in contravention of the laws and treaties which Nigeria is bound to uphold. We therefore demand, that the federal authorities particularly the Police and the FCT Minister, investigate all the allegations of abuse, ill-treatment and violence including rape and other forms of sexual assaults, to which these women were subjected, and where the agents are found culpable, they must be brought to justice before a competent court that meet international human rights standards without delay. The government should also provide psychosocial support and compensation for the victims.

We call on the government to account for the wellbeing and bodily integrity of all the women for the period they have been held in detention by the state.

We call on the government to release the women immediately and unconditionally from this unlawful and discriminatory detention and from the proposed “forced” three months arbitrary rehabilitation at the FCT rehabilitation centre in Lugbe, Abuja, which would further violate these women’s rights to equality, dignity and liberty.

The continued harassment of women by the FCT joint task force should stop immediately as it constitutes gender discrimination, a violation of human rights, is unlawful, unconstitutional and carried out with total disregard for the rule of law.

The undersigned will not hesitate to take legal actions to challenge the constitutionality of the raids, targeted against women, if the state does not take immediate action to stop these harassments.

The undersigned:

1.       ACTS Generation

2.       Adaobi Egboka

3.       African Women Empowerment and Childcare Initiative (AWECI)

4.       African Women’s Initiative

5.       Alliances for Africa

6.       Amnesty International Nigeria

7.       Arise Nigerian Woman Foundation

8.       Betty Abah

9.       Bridget Osakwe

10.   CedarSeed Foundation

11.   CEE-HOPE Nigeria

12.   Centre for Nonviolence and Gender Advocacy in Nigeria

13.   Change Managers International Network

14.   Chidi Odinkalu

15.   CISLAC

16.   CLEEN Foundation

17.   Country Associates Network (CANET)

18.   Deaf Women Aloud Initiative

19.   Deaf Women Association of Nigeria Abuja Nigeria

20.   Devatop Centre For AFRICA Development

21.   Development in Practice Gender and Entrepreneurial Initiative (DIPGEI)

22.   Dorothy Njemanze

23.   Dorothy Njemanze Foundation

24.   Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives (ECOWA)

25.   Education as a Vaccine

26.   Equity Advocates

27.   FAME Foundation

28.   FIDA Nigeria

29.   Gender Advocacy for Justice Initiative

30.   Gender and Environmental Risk Reduction Initiative (GERI)

31.   Girl Child Africa

32.   Girls’ Power Initiative

33.   Haly Hope Foundation

34.   HEIR Women Development

35.   Ier Jonathan-Ichaver

36.   Jenny Chisom

37.   Josephine Effah Chukwuma

38.   Juliana Itohan Oyegun

39.   Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP)

40.   Lillian Okenwa

41.   Martin Obono

42.   Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome

43.   Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN)

44.   Nigerian Feminist Forum (NFF)

45.   Olobiri Foundation

46.   Ovie Brume Foundation

47.   Partners West Africa Nigeria

48.   Partnership for Justice

49.   Peyi Soyinka-Airewele

50.   Politishean

51.   Project Alert on Violence Against Women

52.   Sesor Empowerment Foundation

53.   Society of Media in Public Health

54.   Spaces for Change

55.   State of the Union Coalition (SOTU)

56.   Transparency International Nigeria

57.   Vision Spring Initiatives

58.   Widows Development Organisation

59.   Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC)

60.   Women Aid Collective (WACOL)

61.   Women Environmental Programme

62.   Women for Peace and Gender Equality Initiative

63.   Women Foundation Nigeria

64.   Women In Politics Forum (WIPF)

65.   Women Information Network (WINET)

66.   Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Nigeria

67.   Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA)

68.   Women’s Rights and Health Project

69.   Youth Hub Africa
70. Zero Corruption Coalition (ZCC)
71. ActionAid Nigeria
72. Ayisha Osori
73. Isioma Pamela Osakwe