Imo Government, in partnership with UNICEF, has trained some security operatives and judiciary officers on enforcement of laws prohibiting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The two-day training, attended by participants drawn from 53 communities in Ideato North and Ihitte Uboma Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, ended at Urualla, Ideato North headquarters on Tuesday.
Addressing the trainees, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Vulnerable Groups, Mrs Nkechi Ugwu, thanked UNICEF and other support partners for their efforts toward stamping out FGM from the state.
Ugwu, who was represented by UNICEF Monitoring and Evaluation Officer in the ministry, Mr Samuel Obizue, pledged commitment to protect the girl child and other vulnerable groups in the state from violations on their rights.
“I am sincerely grateful to UNICEF and other partners for your consistency in supporting the state towards ensuring that FGM is eliminated in our communities.
“We pledge to continue putting necessary machinery in place to ensure that we give voice to the voiceless and protect the vulnerable in our dear state,” Obizue said.
Also, the UNICEF Chief of Enugu Field Office, Mr Ibrahim Conte, said the training was aimed at increasing participants’ knowledge of FGM as a form of violence against women and girls.
Conte, represented by the UNICEF consultant on FGM for Imo and Ebonyi, Mr Benjamin Mbakwem, said the practice was not a religious ritual.
He warned that medical practitioners found guilty of FGM risked losing their licence.
“You have been legally empowered to arrest and prosecute offenders because FGM is not a religious ritual and it has been banned by law,” he said.
A legal practitioner, Mrs Gloria Gesture, assured the participants of legal backing as enshrined in the Imo FGM Prohibition Law No. 006 of 2017.
Gesture urged them to discharge their duties without fear of harassment.
Speaking on behalf of the trainees, Dr Ikenna Obi, from the Department of Public Prosecution, Ministry of Justice, thanked the facilitators of the programme.
Obi urged other trainees to disseminate the message to the larger society.
“There are laws against FGM at the federal and state levels and I call on all stakeholders to put hands on deck to ensure that we eliminate this obnoxious practice from our society,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the trainees included judiciary officers, operatives of the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Services. (NAN)
