Sauka, a densely populated community situated in the Nations capital, Abuja is witnessing some disturbing cases of sexual violence, drug abuse and other criminal activities; but, equally worrisome is that survivors of sexual violence often struggle to get justice or the needed attention they need.
Despite being surrounded by some leading security agencies such as the Immigration Service, Customs, Civil defence corps, perpetrators of these criminal activities appear to be having a field day.
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Moreso, the community head, Aguma of Sauka Village, Yusuf Magaji lamented decry that governance is not felt in the community, evidenced by the absence of most basic social amenities such as hospitals , schools, police post among others, which he noted is giving rise to sexual violence and other gender-based abuse.
But for the intervention of the Surveillance Team, a community vigilante group, Magaji noted the busy community may have been overtaken by drug addicts and perpetrators of sexual violence.
The Community head, however lamented that the absence of these facilities is fuelling criminality and denying survivors access to justice and the rehabilitation they require.
He said, “We don’t have hospitals here or schools, our youths drink and abuse drugs too much , violence against women and girls is a problem . Parents are unable to discipline and caution their children, if you try to do so, they may even attack you. They have lost that parental control.
“The surveillance committee are trying in educating and sensitizing these young ones and that is helping.”
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Vincent Boust, Secretary of the 10-man Surveillance group which mainly consist of peasant farmers and petty traders regretted that security agents which ought to curtail these problems often collude with the perpetrators.
He said, “On the streets of this community, you will see youths selling hard drugs in the open, if you arrest them and take them to the station, before you come back you will see that they are already back before you and you will become their target, so we had to be polite in talking to them.
“Some of them have found a means of livelihood in selling this drugs . Young boys between ages of 15 to 18 are the most peddlers of these drugs. The girls on the other hand do not help matters in the evening they parade nearly half dressed.
He said if the community has its own police post, government-owned hospital, school and other facilities, it would aid the community in addressing the challenges.
“If we had a police post, we can take our cases to the station for immediate action. We don’t have a government hospital, when you get to the hospitals here with a case of sexual abuse, they will insist on money or turn their back. But, if there is a government hospital, I think attention will be given to us and to the patients we carry there.
“We need the attention of government in the areas of police post hospital and schools.”
On the issue of sexual rape, Boust alleged that some girls enjoy the experience “if they see that a girl is raped today another one will like to be raped tomorrow.”
“They begin to brag about it, and others will want to experience that. About 35 percent to 45 percent of girls have passed through one sexual molestation or the other and those that have not want to experience it, so that they too can pride themselves about what happens in the society.
He further revealed that the team also tackle case software women bartering, archaic practices like tribal marks, female genital mutilation and child abuse
“We do sensitization to stop all these and stop archaic parasites on women and children we also settle violent access against men and women. We educate youths the consequences and repercussions of their action”, he said.
Sauka is one of the many communities, including towns and cities experiencing cases of sexual violence and drug abuse. Nationally the statistics are grim, the United Nations Children fund (UNICEF) says 1 in 4 Nigerian girls have experienced one form of sexual violence or the other.
Experts have argued that improved access to justice as well as other basic services for survivors can help tackle the menace.
Ngozi Ike, desk officer, Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response, speaking at a workshop organised by UNICEF in Abuja. lamented the slow pace of trials and convictions of suspected sex offenders.
She said in FCT alone, there are 444 cases of sexual offences but only one conviction has been recorded this year. This according to her is not good enough.
The director, National Orientation Agency, FCT, Mary Tanko, said poor confidence in security agencies, stigmatization, corruption are also factors that fuels GBV in Nigeria
Tanko stated that issues of violence are also rampant in communities where drug abuse is tolerated.
Moreso, states, especially in the northern part of the country are yet to domesticate the Child Right Acts (2003), a legal framework that is instrumental in curbing the menace.
Odele informed that 13 out of 36 states were yet to sign the law in Nigeria, and this she noted us worsening the incidences of violence against women in Nigeria.⁹
