The WHO acting Emergency Manager, North-Eastern Nigeria, Dr Issac Boateng, made this known at a capacity building training for stakeholders, in Damaturu on Friday,

Boateng said that victims with complicated cases would be referred to secondary healthcare centres, where necessary.

Represented by the WHO Public Health Officer, Dr Ibrahim Salisu, Boateng said that the organisation had deployed mobile health teams in remote areas to identify cases of GBV.

He said that WHO and its partners would continue to provide interventions at various levels to strengthen response to GBV in emergencies.

“At higher level, we are building the capacity of government officials in the state ministry of health to develop relevant policies and guidelines for use.

“As for the frontline service delivery level, we are targeting healthcare workers with various training and capacity building,” he said.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Lawan Gana, who was represented by the Director Public Health, Dr Hauwa Larai-Goni, commended the organisation for its various interventions in the state.

According to her, WHO has supported the state in the training of health workers and provision of clinical consumables, particularly during emergencies.

Also speaking, the Police Public Relations Officer of the state police command, ASP Dungus Abdulkarim, noted that GBV, especially among minors, was a matter of concern to the police in the state.

Abdulkarim urged members of the public to always report GBV cases to the appropriate authorities and avoid concealing the identities of the perpetrators.

Our correspondent reports that participants at the training included healthcare workers, the police, officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, traditional leaders, members of civil society organisations and religious leaders.

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Mr Gbenga Omotoso, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, made the appeal in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Omotoso said that the state government had noticed the unpleasant events that had occurred following the degeneration of the anti-SARS protests.

He noted that on Monday, some policemen were injured in attacks on RRS vehicles on Herbert Macaulay way and Alapere area.

“Ordinary citizens have had their lives disrupted in many ways,’’ the commissioner said.

According to him, the Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration abhorred violence in any form and “warned all those behind these disturbing incidents to stop them’’.

He noted that the government would not allow any breakdown of law and order.

“Gov. Sanwo-Olu is doing everything possible to ensure that this crisis stops as soon as possible.’’

He called on the people of Lagos not to panic but to pray for peace, which the state desired, following the unfinished battle against COVID-19.

“We urge all parents to ensure that their children do not become ready tools in the hands of criminals, who may want to take advantage of the protests to perpetrate evil.

“All law-abiding Lagos citizens must ensure that criminals do not hijack the protests by our good-intentioned youths and make life difficult for our people,’’ he said.

Omotoso stated that it was the duty of all good citizens to ensure that nothing was done to aggravate this situation.

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The Coordinator of LACVAW, Eqy Anazonwu, made the call at the closing session of a two-day town hall meeting on data sensitisation in Kuje Area Council of the FCT in Abuja.

Anazonwu said that the town hall meeting was aimed at data gathering from various agencies and stakeholders from Kuje Area Council on their experiences and how they address issues of SGBV in their communities.

She added that LACVAW, a coalition of over 50 civil society organisations, was currently pushing for the implementation of the act in the FCT and advocating its passage in different states of the federation.

“We have members all over the country; we are working to see that the law is effectively implemented because without proper implementation, the law is useless.

“We are working to see that the Act is effectively adopted, domesticated and implemented in the states.

“By implementation, I mean we should start using this law in the law courts, not the penal code because the VAPP Act is more comprehensive than the penal code.

“The penal code still has so many loopholes which we believe is not effective because the crimes committed are even higher now than when the penal code was adopted.”

She mentioned that the law addressed issues of rape, gender violence, domestic violence, as well as specified the role of NAPTIP in caring for victims, prosecuting offenders and rehabilitating survivals.

Anazonwu said that culture, religion and stigma had contributed immensely, whereby victims suffered in silence and not able to speak up on their experiences.

She called on parents and caregivers to listen to their children whenever they report issues on SGBV to them, and they should in turn investigate and report to the appropriate authorities to prevent reoccurrence.

Ezinwa Obiajunwa, the Programme Officer, LACVAW, said about 14 to 17 states adopted the VAPP Act, saying there was need to raise more awareness on the provisions of the law across the country.

“The provision of the VAPP Act differ according to societal issues, but the Act extensively dwelt on rape and listed elements of how one can prove that the person has been raped.

“So we hope that such key provisions are sustained in all the versions of the VAPP Act, passed across the country.”

Obiajunwa said that representatives from various agencies at the meeting would be given a response tool pack on SGBV to use while enlightening the public on the menace.

A participant and representative of Women Friendly Initiative, an NGO, Dr Veronica Gabriel, commended the organisers for sensitising stakeholders from Kuje Area Council on SGBV.

She said “I am excited that the NGO is doing this in the six area councils of the FCT, however, the issue of sexual and gender based violence is at the front burner for everyone of us right now.

“The Sexual Offenders Register introduced by NAPTIP is in the right direction to curtail incidences of rape.

“When you begin to shame perpetrators, they will know that there is need to stop, because nobody will want to see his face on the pages of the sexual offenders register.”

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The president said this in a televised address in Johannesburg.

“Over the past few days, our country has been deeply traumatised and troubled by acts of violence and criminality directed against foreign nationals and our own citizens,” Ramaphosa said.

“People have lost their lives, families have been traumatised … We know that at least 10 people have been killed in the violence. Two of whom were foreign nationals.”

South African police arrested more than 80 people and confirmed five deaths as riots in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria intensified on Tuesday, spreading to surrounding townships with roving groups attacking mainly foreign-owned shops.

The latest wave of unrest in South Africa has raised fears of a recurrence of violence aimed at foreigners in 2015 in which at least seven people were killed.

Before that, some 60 people were killed in a wave of unrest around the country in 2008.

Police have yet to pinpoint what triggered the violence, which began on Sunday when protesters armed with makeshift weapons roamed the streets of Pretoria’s business district pelting shops with rocks and petrol bombs and running off with goods.

High unemployment and widespread poverty have been cited as possible triggers for the recent disturbances and attacks on immigrants, but some officials say the riots might be the work of criminal syndicates.

“We can’t rule out pure criminality of criminals using a sensitive situation where there are real grievances on issues of unemployment and foreign nationals,” police minister Bheki Cele said.

Cele confirmed five people had been killed in the three days of rioting, but did not give further details on the circumstances or on arrests.

The Premier of Gauteng province, David Makhura, said during an inspection of the damage in Alexandra that there was a “xenophobic sentiment” underlying the attacks.

Ramaphosa condemned the violence, saying in a video posted on Twitter that “attacking businesses run by foreign nationals is totally unacceptable”.

Immigration to South Africa from across the continent and from parts of southeast Asia picked up in the early 1990s, spurred by the end of apartheid rule and the economic boom that followed.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António  Guterres has “strongly condemned” the renewed wave of “acts of violence” against foreigners and their property in parts of South Africa.

“We strongly condemn the acts of violence that have been reported in different provinces in South Africa, including attacks against foreigners and the destruction of their property.

“He has also noted Ramaphosa’s call for strengthening accountability in line with democratic values enshrined in South Africa’s constitution.

“The Secretary General urges all political leaders to clearly and openly reject the use of violence,” he said.

But the UN Chief’s spokesman also avoided the xenophobia tag, choosing rather to describe the attacks as “acts of violence”.

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Luis Almagro, Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) said democracy in Venezuela had been “fatally wounded”.

Photos being circulated online showed militia members on motorbikes shooting at protesters and police beating others who in turn responded with violence.

“We condemn above all that the regime has armed the Colectivos so that they can exercise repression without restraint,” Almagro said, using the local name for the armed groups supporting Maduro’s Socialist government.

Anti-government protesters clashed with police on Thursday for a second straight day, as marchers demanding political change were met with tear gas and riot squads, in further scenes of violence that have left nine people dead in the last two weeks.

Thousands of demonstrators turned out in Caracas and other cities against Maduro’s leftist government.

Police in Caracas fired tear gas grenades to try to keep the crowd from assembling for an attempted march on the city centre, according to an opposition parliamentarian at the scene.

“When more people got here, they attacked us by throwing more bombs at the corps of protesters,” Progressive Movement of Venezuela (MPV) deputy Simon Calzadilla said.

“It can not be that this is their response to a peaceful demonstration.”

Since protests began in earnest April 4, Maduro has mobilised military and police for a vigorous crackdown on protesters, whom he accuses of attempting a coup d’etat under the direction of Western powers, including the U.S.

The incident comes against the backdrop of a deepening political and economic crisis in Venezuela, with deadly street protests against Maduro’s government sparking violent clashes between police, demonstrators and armed gangs allegedly loyal to Maduro.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged both sides to engage in dialogue about the balance of power, the electoral calendar, human rights, truth and justice and the socio-economic situation.

“We are concerned about the latest developments in Venezuela and urge that all efforts be made to lower tensions and prevent further clashes,” Guterres’ spokesman said in a statement.

The anti-government protests were set off by a failed power grab by the loyalist Supreme Court, which in a March 30 ruling attempted to strip the opposition-controlled National Assembly of its powers.

The rulings were a breaking point for many Venezuelans, amid a long-simmering political and economic crisis that has caused widespread shortages of food and medicines and triple-digit inflation.

Maduro has responded to the crises with increasing authoritarianism, blocking opposition moves for a referendum to recall him, while at the same time instituting dubious reforms rooted in his predecessor Hugo Chavez’s “21st century socialism” in an effort to salvage the economy.

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