ECOWAS COURT ORDERS FG TO PAY N88BN CIVIL WAR DAMAGES

The ECOWAS community court of justice has granted an out-of-court settlement application for a case involving the federal government and victims of the Nigerian civil war.
In 2012, hundreds of mine victims of the war approached the ECOWAS court, asking for an order for the removal of remnants of war instruments stockpiled in 11 states of the south-east, south-south and part of the north-central.
The instruments were said to include live bombs, abandoned unexploded ordnances (AXO), unexploded ordnances (UXO) and the explosive remnant of war (ERW).
The victims also asked the court to compel the government to rehabilitate the areas and compensate them for the damages.
On October 24, counsel to both parties filed an application for out-of-court settlement, on the ground that they had reached agreeable terms.
At its sitting on Monday, the court granted the application, ordering the parties to abide by the terms of the settlement.
Part of the terms of the settlement stipulates that the federal government “undertakes to pay, without delay, compensation in the sum of N50 billion in full and final sum to the victims, their families and communities as contained in Schedule 4(1) to this terms of settlement”.
“That FG undertakes to the pay of a total sum of N38 billion as contained in schedule 4(2) to this terms of settlement for the purposes of carrying out total demining and destruction, rebuilding of public buildings, mine centre activities, construction of class rooms, provision of prosthetics and all other activities enumerated thereunder,” the court ruled.
“That the federal government undertakes to complete the demining and deconstruction of landmines and bombs in the Nigeria civil war affected states of south-east, south-south and part of the north-central of Nigeria covering eleven states as contained in schedule 1 to this terms of settlement.
“That the federal government undertakes to mobilise the 4th and 5th respondents back to work to complete the final phase of the ongoing removal and destruction of post-war lethal materials, the 4th and 5th respondents having satisfactorily carried out the first phase of the contract.”
The terms of settlement, which was signed on behalf of applicants, by Noel Chukwukadibia, gave the federal government “a reasonable time not exceeding 45 days from the day of his judgement.”
Earlier while granting the application, Nwoke Chijioke, the presiding judge, commended the parties for reaching an out-of-court settlement, saying such means usually “saves time provided all interest are represented”.
“The report of settlement was filed on October 24th, 2017 and signed by counsel to all the parties. The applicant’s counsel applied that the said terms of settlement be adopted by the court in its judgement. The application was supported by counsel to the defendants,” he said.
“The terms of settlement filed on 24th October, 2017 is hereby adopted as the judgement of this court in terms and conditions set out in the terms of settlement.”
Court documents showcased the fact that there are 302 affected locations across 10 states where the instruments are buried.
The states are Benue, Enugu, Abia, Cross River, Ebonyi and Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Anambra and Imo states.

OLAMIDE RAPES, IMPREGNATES GIRL AT AJEGUNLE

Olamide Odewusi, a 30-year-old, has appeared before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court charged with rape and impregnating a 17-year-old girl. Rape The accused, a phone technician, resides at 13, Ogunsheye St., Ajegunle in Alagbado, a suburb of Lagos.

He was, however, released on a bail of N250,000 with two sureties in like sum. The Prosecutor, Insp. Clifford Ogu told the court that the offence was committed on May 12 at the accused’s residence. Ogu said the accused, who met the girl at a party, obtained her phone number and has since been calling her. “The accused lured the girl into his apartment on the pretext of fixing her faulty phone, shut the door and raped her,’’ he said.

The prosecutor said some months after, the girl was feeling feverish and went to the hospital for treatment and was confirmed pregnant. The offence contravened Section 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. The accused, if found guilty, risks life imprisonment. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. Chief Magistrate Taiwo Akanni adjourned the case until Dec. 6 for mention

HORRIBLE STORIES OF NIGERIAN WOMEN WHO SURVIVED VIOLENT, MURDEROUS SPOUSES

WHENEVER Roselyn disagreed with her husband, it would earn her a beating. For the eight years she lived with him, Roselyn was beaten more than 60 times. Sadly, her now 16-year old son witnessed several sessions of the ugly inci­dent. With each scar, came a sting of pain in her heart that kept mul­tiplying until she ran for her dear life. Even though she noticed signs of his aggressive nature before they got married, she thought it would be a one-time event. He slapped her once when they were courting but she waved it aside.
According to Roselyn, a French graduate, her ex-husband believed she shouldn’t have a say in their marriage. It was an abomination to him. She felt discouraged at the life she was living. She needed to take permission from him, to visit her family otherwise he would beat her till she fainted. She was literally liv­ing in hell.
Filled with regrets at the turn of events in her life, Roselyn said she would have put two and two togeth­er, because he told her his father used to beat his mother a lot. While beating her, he tells her, ‘my father used to beat my mother and she didn’t die, if I beat you, you will not break, you are not an egg.’
During the nine months duration of her pregnancy, the beating wors­ened. On one occasion, he threw a lit lantern at her, but luckily for her, she dodged and the settee in their sitting room almost caught fire.
At another time, he held a knife to her head. The horror she felt that day was better imagined as her whole life flashed before her eyes and she begged to stay alive for her son. His eyes were blood shot, and she didn’t believe that she would survive that encounter.
Roselyn was disappointed when she reported her husband’s inhu­mane behaviour to his father. He told her to be patient that the beat­ing was normal. Her local pastor didn’t even provide the needed suc­cour she needed at that time with words. Not even the police were ready to protect her from the beat­ings she endured at home.
‘’When I went to my local Pas­tor, he told me that I shouldn’t be making him angry, and that what­ever my husband says, I should submit. I asked him if that included him asking me to rob a bank or kill someone. When I went to the po­lice, they took one look at me and smiling said, ‘you are not a small girl. You either bear it or seek a di­vorce.’ But for her “What I wanted at that time was for the violence to stop butnot necessarily for the mar­riage to end.’’
Looking back, Roselyn con­fessed that her marriage was over in the second year, but was deter­mined to make it work against all odds. Her reason? She didn’t want to be tagged a divorcee.
She was also worried over how she would raise her son, who wit­nessed some of the abuses. So, she had to hide him at her parents’ house at some point to shield him from the beatings. She eventually got help from an NGO that helps abused women. Roselyn is just one out of several women out there who are enduring domestic violence for several reasons while a number of brave ones have already taken a walk out of such homes so they can live. Some of them share their sad stories with Saturday Sun.
HADIZA: I lost count of how many times he beat me and pushed me out of our home
Hadiza was married to a popular Nigerian musician Zaaky Azzay. Right from the beginning of their marriage, it was hell personified for her frail body. Violence and physi­cal assault was an integral part of their marriage.
She said that at the slightest argu­ment between them, Zaaky would lash out at her, abused her verbally and threw things at her. Several times, in the early years of their marriage, whenever she got preg­nant, he would ask her to abort it. She was concerned and asked him if he didn’t want them to have chil­dren.
Eventually, they had three chil­dren, but the violence didn’t stop. Hadiza has lost count of how many times he beat her and pushed her out of their house or abandoned her on the road if they had an argument in the car while driving home from somewhere.
“On more than two occasions, I went to the police station to report, but they never took me seriously. When I could not take it any longer, I decided to take my destiny in my hands. Initially, I ran away, because Zaaky had said, if I did not leave, he would kill me.’’
Someone referred her to Project Alert and they gave her shelter. She stayed there for six months. In the first few days she was in the shel­ter, she was miserable, because she missed her children.
Hadiza succeeded in having two of her three children but the action infuriated her husband who used his personal relationship with the Police to threaten and intimidate her. They tried tracing her to the shelter, and at that point Project alert had to petition the IGP.
It was all joy for Hadiza when the petition was approved and the Lagos State Police Command was asked to back off on a case that was already in court. She also went to the public to tell her story as he had gone on the social media to say one small NGO, known as Project Alert, was trying to use his name to make money. By the time she told her own side of the story, he could not talk again.
Reliving her sad days as a mar­ried woman, Hadiza revealed Zaaky didn’t allow her to do any­thing. She lived in his shadow and her self-esteem was at its lowest ebb because she was careful not to provoke him.
Since he was older than her by about 20 years, she disclosed that Zaaky felt she was too stupid to know or do anything against his order. Her opinion in the house did not count, and anytime she tried voicing out anything, she received serious beatings.
While she was at the shelter, and with the constant counseling she re­ceived, her self-confidence and es­teem returned gradually. She started believing in herself and her ability to work and earn a living. She en­gaged in petty trading with support from her father.
Life smiled on Hadiza who was able to rent a small apartment for herself and her children after living in the shelter for six months. Today, her marriage to Zaaky is over. But he still has her oldest daughter and Hadiza is doing everything she can to get her daughter away from her father.
OMO: My six-year old daughter asked me if I would be happy if my husband kills me
Omo had gotten used to receiv­ing severe beatings from her hus­band of eight years. She was an or­phan who opened her heart and life to Kenneth. At the time they met, he appeared like her messiah but that quickly fizzled out as he kept pre­senting her with blows, kicks and slaps at every given opportunity.
One day, he beat her so much that she fainted. It was the voice of her confused children that kept ringing in her subconscious until her neigh­bours revived her. When she woke up, she was soaked in water. Her crying children were by her side looking lost, confused and scared.
Her six year old daughter begged her not to allow daddy killed her as the beatings had become a regu­lar occurrence in their home. Her daughter informed her that daddy kept kicking her in the head even after she had passed out. Omo said that contrary to pleas from neigh­bours that she left her abusive hus­band while she could still be with her children, she stayed in the mar­riage and forgave him, praying that he would change.
However, Omo would live to regret her decision as her prayers fell on hard ground. He became worse and abused her even more. Three months ago, he threatened to kill her and the children. This time, she knew the threat was real. She became fearful and lost all hopes, thinking of what would happen when he eventually carries out his threats.
‘’My kids were frightened, my daughter begged me to call the po­lice, but I refused, claiming that a good woman won’t call the police on her husband. Her next statement made me cry. She said you always protect him, he beat you, spit on you, but you still protect him. I hope you will be happy if he even­tually kills us “.
It was not that her daughter wasn’t telling the truth, but the re­ality was that they had nowhere to go. But her friend came to her res­cue offering her a boys’ quarters accommodation in her home and she moved in with her two chil­dren. They had rest for a while until her husband started threatening the couple who took them in.
She narrated further, “after two months, he started calling, asking people to call and say how sorry he was. I was considering going back but every time I pray, I keep get­ting this feeling that if I go back to him, I might not come back alive. I wanted to go back because I hate divorce.’’
OMOTOLA: One day, my hus­band tried to strangle me
Omotola was married for 10 years and she was blessed with two children. But then, her marriage was not the happy one she envis­aged. Her husband had on several occasions beaten and threatened her to keep quiet the goings on at home.
She trembled whenever she heard his voice. All she would do to provoke was to ask him questions about what she deemed important and he would flip. On one occa­sion, he attempted strangling her and pulled off her hair from the skull scalp.
Worse still, he never provided for the family as and when due and re­fused her, conjugal rights. On sev­eral occasions, after enduring the frustration for a long time, Omotola made attempts to bring in their pas­tor to mediate, a suggestion he hith­erto, refused.
It was then it dawned on her that she would no longer risk her life for a union that was snuffing every inch of her breath away from exis­tence. With nowhere to go and no money to keep her and her children together, she ran to a shelter for abused women in Lagos and they helped her regain her life.
MERCY: Before our wedding, he beat me up and broke my left eardrum
Another domestic violence sur­vivor, Mercy was married for nine turbulent years. Trouble started dur­ing preparations for their wedding. As invites were being sent out to friends, he beat her up and broke her left eardrum in the process.
Immediately, she wanted to call the wedding off, but both families begged and prevailed on her not to do so, as it would bring about shame. They pleaded on his behalf and he promised never to hit her again.
But he didn’t keep his promise. Four months into their marriage, he started beating her at every slightest opportunity. This led to further de­terioration in her left ear, as he kept slapping and hitting her.
She revealed that the beatings and the problems continued un­abated for nine years despite fam­ily interventions, which often times ended with both families asking her to apologise even after the beatings. Hardly would a month go by that he wouldn’t beat her.
At one time, he attempted to strangle her. She however managed to escape from him and called out to neighbours. Having escaped, she reported him to the police. He was invited but no agreement could be reached as he told the police that as long as she argues with him, he would keep beating her.
‘’At this point, I realized that  there was no hope for our marriage and that I needed to run for dear life. Neither my security nor that of my children was guaranteed in the marriage. I got to Project Alert for Women, a non-governmental organization, six weeks after they opened the first shelter for abused women in Nigeria.’’
Her marriage was dissolved on the grounds of cruelty, physical as­sault and threat to life. While she gained custody of their children, her ex was asked to pay mainte­nance allowance for his young chil­dren.
Her ordeal was far from over as her ex-husband never adhered to the court judgement till date as he has refused to cater for his children as ruled. The NGO Project Alert as­sisted Mercy through Law School and thereafter, she got a job with at the University of Lagos where she now works.
Even though she is happy to be alive to tell her story, she has not had it easy catering for her children as a single mother. It was a tough road, but one that is laced with ben­efits. Her children give her strength to keep moving.
BOLAJI: He forced me to trans­fer my salaries to him even though he runs his business
A mother of four, Bolaji had suffered incessant physical and psychological assault from her husband, Lawrence. She experi­enced various forms of physical assault ranging from chasing her with cutlass on several occasions; throwing her things out of the house; seizing and destroying her personal and official properties such as office laptop and phones etc.
Even though he had a business of his own, her husband had on numerous occasions forced her to transfer her salaries to him on a monthly basis, using the children as bait. He had severally threatened to frustrate her in life and render her useless, saying nothing would happen.
For the most part of their 11 -year old marriage, she lived in unimagi­nable fear for her life and those of her children. At one point, he asked her to resign from her job after tak­ing her salary. He placed her under house arrest for days. He seized her phones too. When she eventually communicated to her father begging to be rescued, he pushed her out of their home and stopped her from leaving even though she was still breastfeeding her baby.
After much power tussle between both families using the police, her baby was handed over to her. She filed for a restraining order against him. She has known peace ever since she left her abusive husband and she’s doing well with her four children.
ROSEMARY: He would beat me up after sleeping with other women
Rosemary had married Mr. Ro­land hoping the marriage would be filled with bliss. They had started a business together, built a house to­gether and bought cars together, yet, all the documents were in his name.
When she summoned the courage to ask him why all the documents were in his name haven contrib­uted 70 per-cent of the money in­volved, he beat her up, tearing her clothes before their neighbours.
He started sleeping around with women, and whenever she ex­pressed her displeasure, she would receive a thorough beating. He proceeded to a customary court to divorce her because they had a tra­ditional marriage.
‘’The last time he beat me up in the presence of my children and neighbours, I reported him to the police and he was invited for questioning. At the station, the po­lice made him sign an undertaking never to assault me again.’’
ADEOLA: He took my chil­dren away
A mother of two boys, Adeola got married to Mr. Philip Otku­pom Philip, a Naval Rating, after both of them met at the home of her elder sister. They courted for six months and consummated their marriage in 2007.
However, their love-at-first-sight story turned sour as he turned her to his punching bag. She re­ceived beatings whenever she con­fronted him about his numerous affairs, when she admires another man and refused him sex.
Once, he poked his hands into her eyes and till date, she still feels the pain in her eyes. As the beatings continued, Adeola cried out for help and reported her abu­sive husband at Navy Barracks at Iyana Ipaja, Alimosho area of Lagos.
As the case is still under investi­gation, he retaliated by taking her children away from her and she has not set eyes on them ever since. He took them to his sister’s house in Port Harcourt where they had de­nied Adeola the right to see or even speak to them on phone.
Adeola alleged that Philips is about taking another lady from the Airforce as a wife, while her two children are away from her. Scared of receiving another round of beat­ing, Adeola has not ventured trav­elling to Port-Harcourt to get her children back.
Insufficient data
There are insufficient data on do­mestic violence in Nigeria. This is primarily due to the stigma and si­lence surrounding the issue. While there not as much research as there should ideally be on such a seri­ous social and public health issue due to the fear, shame and silence surrounding domestic violence as well as limited funding to engage in the requisite research, there are clear data generated by reputable organisations.
Domestic violence cuts across all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Twenty eight per cent of all women, almost a third of all women in Nigeria, have experi­enced physical violence, a signifi­cant number in a country of almost 160 million, where almost half are women.
Up to 43 per cent of women thought that wife-beating could be justified on the grounds of matters like burning the food; arguing with their husbands; going out without asking for permission; neglecting the children; and refusal to have sexual intercourse.
Women with no education were more likely to say that wife beat­ing was justified. Rural men were more likely to say that wife beat­ing on any of the above-mentioned grounds was justified. Men with a secondary school education were less likely to justify wife-beating than men with less education.
A study further showed that edu­cated women were more likely to have experienced domestic vio­lence. Also, women who live in urban areas are more likely than their counterparts who live in rural areas to have experienced domes­tic violence.
The Gender in Nigeria, 2012 report also indicated that young women between the ages of 15 and 24 were most likely to have expe­rienced physical violence. They were also most likely to justify vio­lence, including wife beating.
While many women are now speaking out against the violence they have had to endure, others have escaped with permanent dis­abilities and scars while some who are not so lucky have died in the process of being pummelled con­stantly.

Does Nigerian culture permit domestic violence?

While domestic violence is a global problem, it has literarily taken residence in Africa with endless stories of pains and sorrow following it.

 In Nigeria particularly, the epidemic has assumed a disturbing dimension that even current penalties have not been able to serve as deterrent. Although described as any violent confrontation between family or household members such as spouses/partners, relatives, children or wards, involving physical harm, wilful intimidation, sexual assault, psychological or emotional assault, women have remained the chief sufferers of domestic violence in Nigeria, with perpetrators claiming to be acting in accordance with tradition. Tradition These perpetrators claim that traditionally, in Nigeria, the beating of wives and children is widely sanctioned as a form of discipline.

Therefore, in beating their children, parents believe they are instilling discipline in them—the same way husbands beat torture their wives who are regarded as children who can be prone to indiscipline if not ‘disciplined’. But is it truly cultural to be violent to women at the slightest opportunity? Domestic violence is temporary insanity — Eze Oliver Ohanweh “I see domestic violence as part of temporary insanity that occurs when someone cannot control his anger,” said Eze Oliver Ohanweh, the traditional ruler, Eziama, Isiala-Mbano Local Government Area in Imo state. He said: “It is very inhuman to lay hands on a spouse. Domestic violence is sadly becoming more rampant now. In actual fact, some women do provoke their husband to anger but that must not translate to laying of hands as punishment of correctional measure. In my community, violent cases between husband and wife or maltreatment of women are obvious, and as custodians of culture, we are trying as much as we can to change the practice.” In Eze Ohanweh’s opinion, misinformation is part of the problem that leads to misunderstanding of culture which inadvertently leads to violence at homes. “When a woman is being married, a customary bride price is paid on her as a mark of respect to her and she, in return is expected to respect the husband. That is where tradition and culture involves such submissiveness but that should not in any way lead to abuse of privilege or wife battering,” he explained.

Domestic violence it is not cultural — Ejima Akoh Speaking as one who is verse both in culture and religion, Ejima Akoh, Personal Assistant to General Overseer, Watchman Charismatic Renewal Church, Headquarters in Lagos, told Woman’s Own that domestic violence is not cultural in any perspective. “I come from the middle belt, Benue precisely. I would not say it is a culture of a particular people. Generally, many Africans practice it as a way of showing man’s superiority over woman. What I do know is that a man, as head of the family, does have some rights over a woman. Nature has made it so from the beginning but that does not justify beating or torturing her,” Akoh said. It is a societal problem—Chidi Njoku “Domestic violence is a societal problem and not cultural. There are lot of things happening at homes now and when people get angry, they use that opportunity to vent their anger at anybody available to them. That’s the kind of society we live in right now; which may be attributed to so many things, including economic hardship or even spiritual. There’s no cultural background to it in any way. “However, it is equally biblical that a wife should be submissive to her husband and when a woman is submissive to a husband and the two are happy together, the element of husband beating up the wife will not arise,” Barrister Chidi Njoku, an easterner also said. ‘Any man who beats his wife is beaten in Yoruba culture’

Speaking from the Yoruba perspective, Gbenga Kola, from Ile-Ife in Osun State, said his own culture abhors violence against women. According to him, any man who beats his wife gets beaten by his father or any elder in his family as a corrective measure. That is to tell you that it is not cultural to be violent to women since these people are highly knowledgeable culturally. “I could remember my father slapping my elder brother many years back for beating up his wife even though he claimed she provoked him to anger. My father said he should have devised other means of addressing domestic issues, such as temporarily walking away from the scene. I practice that and it has been helping me avoid resorting to violent.” ‘

 

In Edo, we respect women’ From the Edo perspective, Chief Patrick Ehigie, who hails from Benin City in Edo State, said anyone practicing domestic violence only does so on personal ground and belief. Chief Ehigie said: “Our culture is not violent. In Edo land, right from the days of our fathers, women are respected and treated as queens. We can be harsh sometimes but being violent to our wives is not a dictate from our culture.” Our take

The truth is, violence against women is not inevitable. The same way perpetrators and even societies choose to commit violence, they can choose to stop. Though no one-fit-all solution can apply as there is no one single reason for violence against women, the invaluable support of communities, traditional leaders and family elders in curbing the trend cannot be over-emphasized. This is because they constitute one of the most revered influencers of public opinion and lifestyle.

Teaching men and boys respect for the female gender is pertinent. As a long-lasting panacea, parents too must live up their roles as role models because the likelihood of any child becoming violent towards the opposite sex will be less if the parents rarely displayed such. Above all, government, as well as law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, should live up to their responsibility of protecting lives by making sure there is improved access to justice and that perpetrators are brought to book.