I have just reached a different level of respect for Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State. This great leader keeps taking giant steps and making history, day after day....you've got to love him...lol.
The governor, signed yesterday, an executive bill to officially open a register for all sex offenders in the state, making him the first governor to do so.
The bill allows for compulsory reporting and documentation of actual and suspected child abuse cases. In his statement, the governor identifies Alimosho, Kosofe, Agege and Oshodi local government areas as places with the highest cases...
Read more after the jump!!!
"I will like to tell those perpetrating the act in these local governments---Alimosho, Kosofe, Agege and Oshodi, to desist now because we would be coming after them. We will combat these crimes so that they do not become big crimes in the state. Also, in other to ensure that criminals are monitored, we have created a crime data register which states everyone who has engaged the criminal justice of the state, and we have close to a 100, 000 offenders on that register. And very soon, we would start deploying people to the data rooms in the police stations across the state to gather the bio-data of offenders including their photographs and others"
"This was why we have asked everyone to register so that before you employ anyone, you will know his track record. And this is the time for everyone, especially women to speak against it. This is the time for us to have a local enforcement unit; either we call it state police or whatever name we wish to call it, to protect women from frequent abuse from the opposite gender. This is the time for women to rise up and challenge employers who set unimaginable target for their female employees. These were targets they could not set for men" he said.
According to the Lagos State Attorney General, Mr. Ade Ipaye, there are over 100 ongoing sexual cases at the high court which are being monitored closely........
"We're monitoring 113 sexual violence cases currently at the High Court. The team is working actively to ensure prompt prosecution of these cases. The major aim of the Sex Offenders Monitoring Program and the Mandated Reporter Policy is to reduce repeat cases by providing names and personal details of convicted sex offenders in the state to a central database. The database will be accessible to individuals and organizations that need information. For example, School proprietors who want to recruit can access this Register as a form of background check"
"The Mandated Reporter Policy, will make it compulsory for all State School Administrators, Counselors, Teachers, Social Welfare Officers and any other officials of the State Government having any dealings with children to report any suspected or actual child abuse or neglect to the Attorney General's office. It is envisaged that the Lagos State Sex Offenders Register will be opened and maintained by the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in partnership with the Lagos State Judiciary, the Nigerian Prisons and the Nigerian Police" he said
What a progressive leader! We totally applaud you sir!
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