The passage of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law (VAPP Law) in Enugu State, Nigeria

Enugu State lawmakers in April 2019 passed into Law the Bill seeking to eliminate violence against persons here in Enugu State. The Bill, which was a private member bill, meant to eliminate all forms of violence against persons in both public and private lives, was sponsored by Hon. Chukwuka Eneh representing Udi South Enugu State, Nigeria. This Bill effectively criminalizes various acts of violence like child marriage, female Genital Mutilation (FGM), rape, unfair widowhood practices, wife battery etc here in Enugu.

What not too many people know was that they were various organizations here in Enugu State, Nigeria who played various leading roles to ensure that this Bill was passed into law. It was indeed appalling and disheartening to see that after this Bill was passed that no major radio, television station and print houses made allusion to this great contribution. This is indeed sad because I for one know that if not for these organizations, the passage of this Bill would have been greatly jeopardized here in Enugu.

As the chairman of the Legislative Advocacy Coalition (LAC), which was a coalition of organizations here in Enugu that advocated for this passage. I will not fail to mention that organizations such as Women aid collective (WACOL), Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP), Tamar SARC etc played a great role in this regard. They all worked together and came under one umbrella called the Legislative Advocacy Coalition (LAC).

They did not just dedicate their time, but also their resources in ensuring that this Bill was passed. As the chairman of this great coalition, I therefore wish to commend everyone and not just the foregoing who played one role or the other in ensuring that this Bill was passed. You all are the real heroes!

Written by:

Mr Chukwudi Ojiedo (Chairman LAC)