• Breaking News

    Wednesday, 8 March 2017

    Women allege being tear-gassed while celebrating IWD

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    Sesan Olufowobi and Samson Folarin

    A security aide of the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, was on Wednesday accused of using tear gas on some men and women celebrating the International Women’s Day

     The people, who were members of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Labour Congress, Association of Professional Women Bankers, Community Life Project and Enough is Enough Nigeria, among others, had marched to the Lagos State Governor’s Office from the Ikeja under bridge.

     It was gathered that the group was billed to meet Ambode, before viting the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

     On reaching Ambode’s office, the women were reported to have met a blockade as security operatives blocked them.

     The President of Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, told our correspondent that the women were shocked when one of the officers used a tear gas on them.

     She said, “We had written letters to the Office of the Governor and the Speaker concerning the solidarity march.

     “When we got to the governor’s office, we saw that they had barricaded the road. The overzealous security men were aggressive and they slammed the gate in our faces.

    “In the process, one of the security men was injured, while our programme officer was also injured. Suddenly, one of the policemen used tear gas canister on us. Despite this, we refused to be provoked.”

    Okei-Odumakin, who expressed disappointment at the incident, called on Ambode to convince the women that he did not instruct the security men to attack them.

    “The governor cannot claim not to know that today is the International Women’s Day, which is celebrated throughout the whole world. This was not the case under the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola, who used to assemble his executive members to receive women.  I know that Ambode is a gender-sensitive person, but to have such a treatment meted at women makes one disappointed,” she added.

    After waiting for over an hour without being attended to, the train later moved to the state Assembly complex, where they displayed placards with inscriptions including, ‘Girl Child Education is a right,’  ‘Stop trading with girls to sustain the boy, they both come by same process of birth,’ ‘Mama na boy? No be taboo that she’s a girl,’ and ‘Educate a girl, empower a community’ to mention a few.

    At the Assembly, Odumakin advocated that the judiciary should be adequately equipped to speedily try all cases on violence against women.

    The Executive Director of Community Life Project, Ngozi Iwere, said Lagos State should make public its annual budget provisions to show transparency as it is being done by the Federal Government.

    Rotimi Sankore, representing African Development International, noted that out of the 40 members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, only four werewomen.

    He also noted that out of the 42 members of the Lagos state executive council, only seven were women, while there was only one woman among the 24 House of Representatives members from Lagos.

    Responding on behalf of the Speaker, a lawmaker, Tunde Braimoh, saluted the women, adding that the women’s day was important to the Assembly.

    “We are concerned about issues on education, health, poverty alleviation, environment, child abuse, agriculture and others, and we assure you that we will continue to employ our oversight function on the executive to protect women,” he said.

    The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, denied any attack on the women at the governor’s office, saying the government also celebrated the IWD.

    He said, “It is not true. Nothing of such happened. Nobody was attacked at the Governor’s Office.”

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