Adamawa launches sexual offenders database.
On Tuesday, the Adamawa Government launched the Sexual Offenders Database (SOD) to ensure quick dispensation of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases in the state.
Speaking during the event in Yola, Justice Afraimu Jingi, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, said the database would help to give information about the number of times sexual offenders commit the crime.
According to him, with the database in place, there will be no hiding place for offenders as it is linked to the national register and can be accessed by all Nigerians so that offenders can be named and shamed.
He added that in line with the desire of the state to ensure a violence-free, peaceful and prosperous society, Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri signed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law on Aug. 30, 2021.
“I’m pleased to announce that full implementation of the VAPP law has started culminating in the launch of the sexual offender’s database today.
“The sexual offender database was designed and created with support from the European Union Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme,” he said.
Hapsat Abdullahi, the Adamawa Coordinator of RoLAC, commended the ministry of justice for its doggedness in ensuring the VAPP law came to fruition in the state upon which the launch of SOD rests.
According to her, the launching of SOD will assist survivors of SGBV and will also serve as a springboard upon which perpetrators will be brought to book.
Abdullahi said that Adamawa was among the few states in which the database was in operation with the launch of the database.
She thanked the state’s chief judge for the creation of four special courts where only SGBV cases are adjudicated, noting that such will ensure efficient and effective dispensation of SGVB matters in the state.
In his remarks, the Chief Judge, Justice Nathan Musa, lauded RoLAC for making Adamawa a trailblazer in the northeast.
Musa, who Justice Hafsat Abdurrahman represented, said the launch would assist the survivors of SGBV.
He called on investigating institutions to ensure diligent investigations for speedy justice for all and sundry.