The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye, says her ministry has concluded plans to constitute a mobile court to try Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases.

The minister, who said this at a news conference on Monday in Abuja, noted that it would increase the visibility of the ministry’s activities in dealing with SGBV issues.

Ms Kennedy-Ohaneye disclosed that among the would-be culprits to be arraigned at the court were those still practising Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to end the old traditional practice nationwide.

The minister said the ministry’s board of directors had given its tacit support to the ministry’s avowed determination to give women a voice in society.

“This will be done in line with Mr President’s renewed hope agenda,” she said, adding that they would work to allow the poor to breathe and not be suffocated.

According to her, the dispensation of cases at the mobile court will be in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Ministry of Justice, Nigerian Governors Forum, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and other security agencies.

She said partnering with other organisations was an innovative way to enforce the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 and other laws to guide against SGBV, GBV, and FGM.

According to the minister, the sanitary towels the ministry usually gives students will be transformed into a “Sanitary Pad Production Centre” as the old method can no longer be sustainable.”

She also said the ministry had stopped the old practice of distribution of gas cylinders to rural women.

“it’s no longer sustainable, as the ministry is now concerned about who refills the gas cylinder for these women when it’s finished,” she said.

She disclosed that the ministry would change the old support method to charcoal burners and bio-gas stoves because of its cost-effectiveness.

Ms Kennedy-Ohaneye added that the ministry had concluded plans to set up women’s cooperative societies to empower the women folk.

She said the scheme would be run in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Traders Associations, and other international organisations.

The minister assured Nigerians that its creche and other underutilised assets would be revived and begin to function optimally within her first 100 days in office.

(NAN)