Ondo state Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN,has signed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill into Law.
The Governor appended his signature on Thursday at an event attended by the First Lady, Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu.
The Sunshine state has now joined the league of states that have domesticated the law.
The Bill was presented to the Governor for signing by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Bamidele Oleyelogun, who led other members of the Assembly including the majority leader, Hon. Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole, to the event.
Governor Akeredolu explained that although the law sought to protect everyone against all forms of violence, the state was particular about the violence against girl child
He bemoaned a situation where fathers rape their daughters, teachers raping their students, and guardians raping girls under their care, saying the law will catch up with anybody who indulges in such an heinous act.
The Governor, who disclosed that the law contained so many things, revealed that anybody that abandons his/her child or spouses abandoning themselves have violated the law and would be prosecuted under it.
He added that the law also takes care of political violence against women, economic abuse of women, rental and succession rights among others.
“You can be charged for unnecessary violence in public place, you can be charged for violence in private place. So, they want us to live a civil life,” he added.
Akeredolu, while describing the law as a wonderful document, particularly appreciated his wife, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, for her passion and interest in matters that affect women and girl child.
He equally applauded members of the State House of Assembly for the expeditious way they passed the Bill into law.
In her remarks, Wife of the Governor, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, saluted the Governor for all his good works in the state, particularly his commitment to protection of the rights of girls and women.
The First Lady said her love for women and the need to eradicate incidents of rape and other violence against girls and minors motivated her to work for the success for the law.
