Female lawyers advocate justice for the vulnerable

Female lawyers in the country have advocated for the building of effective service delivery to enhance justice for the vulnerable in society.

Wife of the Plateau State governor, Mrs Regina Lalong, represented by the wife of the deputy governor, Mrs Abagail Tyoden, while declaring open the 2020 FIDA Nigeria/Annual General Meeting /Pre-Convention Meeting held in Jos, made this declaration.

According to her, the collective mandate to fulfil the expectations which were placed on females lawyers as champions of the vulnerable in the society is important.

She called on them to bridge the gap through legal awareness and assured them of government’s total support in the fight against gender-based violence, as her foundation will continue to partner with them in various capacities to ensure that the vulnerable are free from the many challenges facing them.

National President, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Mrs Prevail Tyoden, in her welcome address, described the absence of access to justice as a hindrance of people to better society.

“As female lawyers, we must take a stand in ensuring justice is served to our vulnerable population in Nigeria as a true test of justice in our society.

“Therefore it is imperative on us to empower the poor and marginalised to seek a response to justice, improve legal protections and address the challenges in the justice sector, such as police brutality, impunity for perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence and other serious conflict-related crimes."

Chairperson FIDA Plateau State, Mrs Mary Izam, said the association in its 32 years of existence has achieved a lot in terms of legal awareness, advocacy, media campaigns and other crime-related crimes against women and children in the society.

Plateau State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chrysantus Ahmadu, in his remarks said the crusade is timely.

He said Plateau State has domesticated the Child Rights Act, which protects the rights of children and is working hard to ensure it adopts the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, which prohibits acts of all forms of violence against persons, especially the marginalised in Nigeria, which is an improvement on the criminal and penal codes.