Isiyaku Ahmed.
Kano state government has officially launched its Sexual Offenders Database (SOD).
The launch was performed by the State Chief Judge, Hon. Nura Sagir Umar on Thursday at the Conference Hall of the state High Court.
The database keeps the information about the sexual offense, name, photo, the number of times sexual offenders commit the crime, date, place, convicted, reported, and arraigned cases.
The importance of the SOD is to serve as a deterrent as offenders are named and shamed. It is a source to verify profiles of would-be employees in sensitive positions such as childcare, and pupil teachers.
It is also a biometric database to share transborder verifiable information of offenders to prevent repeat offending. And, it serves as evidence of a safe space where the onus is not on the survivor to prove rape or culpability.
The event was organized by the State Ministry of Justice with support from the Rule of Law, and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) with funding from the European Union.
RoLAC is working to strengthen the application of law to curb corruption.
Launching the SOD, the State Chief Judge, Hon. Nura Sagir Umar said: “The SOD is a welcome development as the Sesual Gender Based Voilence (SGBV) has been on the increase since the advent of social media because of online accessibility in the last 20 years.
“Every stakeholder must work towards curbing the menace by proactively protecting the family which in the end will protect the society.”
He then called for the official publication of the sexual offenders register to be made available or posted at public offices in local government areas to name and shame, and serve as a deterrent too.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the Chief Registrar, High Court, Abdullahi Ado Bayero thanked RoLAC and all the stakeholders for their efforts and commitment which culminated in the launching of the SOD.
In his opening remarks, the State Coordinator, RoLAC, Ibrahim Bello said: “This is a momentous time for the fight against SGBV, especially of the rape of minors, men and women that was declared ‘Zero Tolerance’ by the state government due to its menace.
“The database will address cases of offenders moving to other places to commit the same offense.”
In his goodwill message, the Grand Khadi, Dr. Tijjani Yakasai highly appreciated the launch of the SOD.
“The menace of SBV is rampant and has called for urgent measures to be taken to curb it.
“The ‘zero tolerance’ declared by the government is a step in the right direction as the menace is very disturbing – burning like a wildfire.
“For the government to achieve the ‘zero tolerance’ all hands must be on deck.
“The decision to launch the SOD is a noble idea. It will help to access the data of the offender and ascertain the type of intervention required at any point in time.
“Security agencies, the civil society must play their role to achieve the desired goal and objectives of the SOD.
He assured of the cooperation of Sharia Courts in the fight against SGBV, especially rape cases.
In his goodwill message, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji who was represented by the Commissioner of Justice, Hon Muhammad Abdullahi Lawan said Kano state is fully ready to support the SOD.
“The state government has already approved the establishment of a permanent and functional Sexual Assault Referral Centers, SARC, in four emirate councils of the state for this purpose,” he added.
In their separate remarks, Kano State Commissioner of Police, CP Ismaila Dikko ably represented by the O/C Gender, Kano State Police Command, CSP Loveth Jomo, the representative of the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Director Planning and Research, Yakubu Muhammad said the launch of the SOD is a good development.
The Police as the first point of contact on SGBV assured working with the SOD to track perpetrators.
The Hon. Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Hon. Muhammad Abdullahi Lawan gave an overview of the SOD.
In his speech, he said: “This is a culmination of a process that started some months ago with technical support of our development partners, RoLAC, and full cooperation of National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) who are the custodians of the National Sexual Offenders Database (NSOD).
“Kano state and all other states before us were given a window to join the NSOD without having to create their own stand-alone database.
“We are glad to both the National and the State offices for their roles in helping us accomplish the connection and for training our backend data entry staff.
“The need for the SOD is obvious: the ever-rising cases of sexual and gender-based violence in our society.
The SOD is rooted in section 4 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act of 2015.
He briefly explained that the database is made of two registers: The sexual Offenders register, and the accredited Service Provider Register.
The sexual offender register is documentation of reported, arraigned, or convicted cases of sex violations as defined by the law. It is accessible to members of the public and security agencies.
It has layers of accessibility. The data on those convicted is available for the public directly on the website while other categories such as reported, arraigned but not convicted can be accessed based on-demand only.
The service provider register on the other hand has the objective of protecting the rights and interests of victims (survivors) of violence.
The register is a record of organizations or individuals who render services that can be considered necessary to create safe spaces, and prevent, report or treat cases and instances of sexual abuse.
In Kano, he said the Ministry of Justice is saddled with the responsibility of collecting, verifying, and uploading the records of the convicted sexual offenders, electronically in addition to keeping a physical register.
The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development is saddled with the responsibility of registering the accredited service providers who will be published on the section of the Kano State on the NSOD website.
The Commissioner of Justice further explained that the SOD is based on the collaborative efforts of a tripartite governance structure made of the citizens’ groups, government agencies, and service providers.
“IT Officer, NAPTIP, Aliyu Maisudan demonstrated how the SOD works at the National and State levels. And, how to navigate the website www.nsod.naptip.gov.ng
Some personalities that graced the event include Hon. Yusuf Ubale, Judge, State Ministry of Justice, Fatima Adamu, CR, Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Hauwa L Umar, DCR (M), Judiciary, Rakiya M Sani, Director, Judiciary, Musa Ahmed, Director, Judiciary, Zubaida Yau, AOCR, MOJ, Rabi Shehu Ahmed, DDPP, MOJ, Abdulrazak Shuaibu, Head of IT, High Court of Justice, Katume Ob, PRAWA,
Others are DR. Nasir Ahmed Garko, Center Manager, WARAKA SARC, Aminu Ado Abubakar, Director of Protocol, Kano State Judiciary, Hon. Usman Na’abba, High Court Judge, Dr. Shehu Usman Abdullahi, SMOH, DMS, Aisha Yakasai, OC Gender, NSCDC, Muhammad Barde, NC10, NAPTIP, Bilkisu Ibrahim, Chairperson, FIDA, Ali Muhammad, Legal Officer, NCoS, Shehu Abdullahi, Kano State Coordinator, NHRC, and Members of SPARC and the media.
