NHRC: How We Saved Mother Of 4 From ‘Assaulting’ Husband

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has disclosed how a married woman with four children endured continuous assaults by her husband.

She (name withheld) was said to have reached out to the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) desk of the Commission for intervention.

The NHRC’s Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs and External Linkages Department, Fatimah Agwai Mohammed, made this known on Saturday in a statement made available to THE WHISTLER.

According to the NHRC Executive Secretary, Tony ojukwu Esq, upon receiving the complaint of the woman, she was asked to move into a house owned by an NGO pending conclusion of investigation.

“The Commission had earlier received complaints from the survivor, on alleged incessant assault and threat by her husband. In order to safeguard her life, the Commission provided protection for her by working out modalities for her to be admitted into a shelter provided by the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, where she stayed with her children for two months,” he said.

After two months of separation, Ojukwu formally called witnesses and family members to reunite the woman and the man but advised him to “live up to his responsibilities as a husband and father” because the consequences of a disfunctional home was terrible.

He added that the Commission’s office in Kogi State will keep observing them.

He also appreciated the foundation for partnering with the Commission in its fight against SGBV across Nigeria.

Recall that the wife of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, on December 3, noted the prevalent cases of assaults in families, particularly with children.

She had called for the protection of people who have been abused, noting that such cases are increasing daily in the country.

“These days, cases of abuses have skyrocketed due to factors including insurgency, banditry, and the covid-19 lockdown. For as many of the victims that have found justice, many more have remained traumatized and unsafe. Even those who have ventured to speak out have drawn… stigma from the community and lack of compassion for the system that is meant to protect them,” she had said.