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In this interview with JAMES ABRAHAM, the Chairman of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, Olivia Dazyem, discusses the commission’s efforts in combating human trafficking and its successful rescue of 100 victims. Excerpts:
It has been more than a year since the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission was established. What has been your experience as the pioneer chairman?
The Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission was established on November 15, 2023, following the legislative approval of the framework that created it, as outlined in Section 3 of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Act of 2015. This law was signed into effect by the former administration of Governor Jonah David Jang just before he exited office. His successor, former Governor Simon Bako Lalong, had attempted to establish the Commission but was unable to complete the process. Fortunately, upon his assumption of office, Governor Caleb Mutfwang granted his approval, and we began operations in November 2023.
Our mandate is clear, as defined by the law. We are responsible for promoting, protecting, and defending the fundamental human rights of the people of Plateau State, promoting gender equality, and ensuring the protection of vulnerable groups. Since taking office, and working with our pioneering staff, we have faced numerous challenges, but we’ve also been among the busiest government agencies. Notably, our Mediation Department handles a significant number of complaints, offering a platform for parties in dispute to air their grievances. Additionally, we are tasked with ensuring the full implementation of various laws, including the Nigerian Constitution, the Gender and Equal Opportunities Act, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, the Persons with Disabilities Rights Law, and the Child Rights Law. Unfortunately, while we have a solid legal framework, implementing these laws has proven to be a major challenge.
How is the commission working to promote gender equality and empower women in Plateau?
We have done our best and we are still improving on the activities being carried out, to benefit the people. We started by engaging with critical stakeholders, to amplify our message. Also, the people of Plateau have suffered a lot as a result of the security challenges, which have exposed our vulnerabilities, leading to gender disparities and inequalities. Women, children, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are at the receiving end of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence. So, we set out to create awareness and now we are sustaining the sensitisation campaign. We have found out that domestic violence, human trafficking, early forced marriages and abandonment by parents are prevalent in the state. We have situations where children become parents themselves, thus exposing them to vulnerability.
Let me say that when we have more women empowered, instances of domestic violence will be reduced in our society. Our campaign is to let the people know that opportunities must be created for both males and females, to unlock their potential for the development of their families and communities.
The issue of child trafficking seems to be rampant in the state, with the latest incident being the rescue of five children trafficked from the Bukuru community in Jos South LGA. Are you concerned about this development?
When we came on board, we discovered instances of human trafficking thriving in the state. We set out to tackle this head-on. Let me use this opportunity to appreciate the police, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NAPTIP and Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, both at the state and federal levels. We have enjoyed a good working relationship with them. Now, the question is: “What are the factors responsible for this situation, particularly with regard to the issue of child trafficking on the Plateau? As I mentioned earlier, the insecurity challenge which bedevilled the state for some years now exposed our vulnerabilities to the point that we have more widows and more orphans on our hands. These challenges compounded our problems. We have internally displaced camps in the state and the situation has been exploited by people who do not mean well for our state and our children, they came under the guise of offering help. In their ignorance and lack of awareness, some parents unknowingly allow their children to be trafficked. Many times, at the slightest information on an organisation, most parents will bring their children to them.
I must let you know that by working closely with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development, the commission has been able to repatriate about 100 children since its establishment. Sometimes we have to travel to some states in the country. We have gone to Abuja, Lagos and other cities to bring back our children. From the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission and from the With the support of Governor Caleb Mutfwang, we commenced the sensitisation and created awareness among our people on the need for them to keep back their children. A lot of people come under the guise that they want to help, whereas they do not offer genuine help but rather they want to help themselves.
In the case you mentioned in the Bukuru community, the police, and NSCDC operatives all came in and helped us to rescue the five victims who were about to be sold. Even those who had been sold, we have been able to get them back and reunite them with their parents. I’m happy there are other cases being handled by the Gender Desk of the state police command as we speak now and there are others being handled by NAPTIP. We are working tirelessly to ensure perpetrators are brought to book.
Unfortunately, many of the perpetrators are living with us and connecting with others outside the state in trafficking our children. We will continue with the sensitisation and I want to use this opportunity to tell the people in the state that there is no better opportunity for any child anywhere. The best place for any child to grow up is with his or her parents or his own community. We will continue to sustain the awareness, sensitisation and engagement with traditional rulers and religious leaders.
Part of our challenges is the culture. Our culture does not seem to promote protection for the girl-child. You discover that the girl-child is easily withdrawn from school to serve as house-help and from there, she moves to other dangerous situations like prostitution. Sometimes she is trafficked to other parts of Nigerian cities or out of the country. We have had to repatriate some Plateau girls from some African countries. This is a collective responsibility and I know that with the intensified sensitisation and stakeholders’ engagement, all hands will be on deck so that we can change the ugly narrative.
Was it within the current administration that the commission repatriated over 100 trafficked children?
Yes, this achievement was made under the current administration. We expect this number to grow, as some children have been reunited with their families while others are undergoing psycho-social therapy at shelters.
There are reports that the commission settled 23 rights violation cases last year. Can you provide an update?
Those were not rights violation cases but family disputes and misunderstandings between persons. The Mediation Department of the commission give opportunities for the parties to ventilate. I think those cases are almost getting to about a hundred at the moment. When we have flagrant violations of fundamental human rights and they are criminal, we escalate them to either the office of the Commissioner of Police or to the Office of the Attorney General. We have had instances of sexual molestation, including rape cases, and we report them to the office of the Commissioner of Police. The office investigated and transferred those it could not handle to the office of the Attorney General. We have cases that are ongoing in court at the moment. We have had some domestic violence where we thought we would be able to settle families so that the marriage could be saved for the benefit of the children. In some instances where we have been unable to save such situations, we have taken such suspects before the court. As of now, we have secured two convictions for domestic violence and some of those cases are still ongoing. We need to let our people know that the law does not allow you to beat up any person. So, for all gender-based violence, once you are arrested, the Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission will ensure you are prosecuted.
Is the commission receiving the necessary cooperation from security agencies and other stakeholders in its efforts to tackle gender-based violence?
I am happy with the level of cooperation we are getting, but I can tell you that it is not yet 100 per cent. There are some issues that we are still trying to handle, which I would not like to mention. I can tell you that a lot is still desired. If we can work more closely, I believe we will be able to achieve more results for the benefit of our people. The judiciary is working within the laws to ensure that the fundamental human rights of our people are protected. If you violate the fundamental human rights of anybody, you pay for it. The people need to understand that the culture cannot override the law. Any culture that promotes the violation of anybody’s rights is repugnant. The courts have always declared such cultures as repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience and to that extent, I want our people to know that adhering to cultural practices that are negative to our people won’t be tolerated by the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission. The law won’t tolerate it and since the law won’t do that, the commission will stand strong to ensure that our people are protected from such harmful cultural practices, particularly for our women who suffer under such practices. We will let our people understand that harmful cultural practices will not be allowed to thrive in our environment.
What are the commission’s top priorities for the year, and how do you plan to achieve them?
We started last year with community engagement, so we will continue this year. I have discovered that a lot of our problems are from the communities. Can you imagine that strangers will go to our communities and tell them, “Give us your children, we want to help them” and they will accept such requests, only for the children to end up being trafficked. So, we will sustain community engagement. We also want to work more with the media. From what we did last year, our people think we have been in existence for a long time. We also intend to work with security agencies and the office of the Attorney General to ensure that perpetrators face the full wrath of the law.
We are happy that budgetary provision for the simplification of our laws was made in the 2025 budget. As soon as it is signed by the governor, our people will get to know and understand the laws better. Ignorance is not an excuse, but we still give our people the benefit of the doubt. We will simplify our laws, particularly the critical ones like the Child Rights Law on the Plateau, Disability Rights Law, Gender and Equal Opportunities Law, and Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, among others. We also have a provision to give these laws mass publicity for our people to get to know them. We intend to train religious leaders and community leaders on gender issues. Also, we intend to work closely with MDAs of the government for gender mainstreaming, so that the MDAs would work for the protection and benefit of our people. A lot of gender inequalities exist within the private sector. We believe that within the year, we will be able to achieve a lot and 2025 is looking quite hopeful for our people.
What policy and legislative changes would you like to see implemented to promote gender equality and women empowerment in Plateau State?
We already have the support of the governor and we are grateful for that. He desires that all the people in the state should find opportunities for participation in the development of the state. I must tell you that we have the right legal framework in place for the protection of the fundamental human rights of our people. The main challenge for us, however, is implementation. Negative cultural practices are existing on the Plateau. I may not go into details but I can tell you, we need to change the cultural narratives in Plateau, particularly female disinheritance. There is a culture that a female cannot inherit either from her family or husband. We are beginning to hear again some dangerous cultures like not adhering to procedures when it comes to separation in spousal relationships. We may need legislative input to rid the state of some of these negative customs.
The governor has set up a task force on child trafficking. Very soon, the task force will go into action and this will further help us regarding the admission of our girls and retaining them in schools.
What legacies would you want to leave in the commission at the end of your tenure?
I want to leave a legacy of commitment, passion and dedication in working round the clock to change the social narrative on Plateau, particularly as regards gender equality. I understand there is a lot of gender inequality in Plateau State, arising from the unfortunate adherence to negative cultural practices in the state. There is a particular section under the Gender and Equal Opportunities Law which empowers the commission to particularly take special interest in promoting, defending and protecting the fundamental human rights of women and children. I have seen that women and children, particularly girls, are at the receiving end of all forms of rights violations. I want to leave this as a legacy that every Plateau citizen should know it is against our laws and natural laws to abuse the fundamental human rights of anybody, and worst still, to abuse the fundamental rights of a woman and the girl child.
