Launch of ROLAC programme
The RoLAC programme was launched at a public event on Tuesday 28 November 2017.
The highlight of the day was the presentation of the programme by the Attorney General and Minister for Justice and the formal handover of the RoLAC work plan by the Minister to British Council.
Key stakeholders committed to working with the programme and adopted the work plan after minor changes. RoLAC engaged with 137 individual stakeholders (46 agencies) at federal level and 73 individuals (42 agencies) at state level.
The event was reported by local news across a range of platforms encompassing five print media outlets (including the Guardian and Daily Trust), four radio channels, four key TV channels and three online services.
Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Network meeting
The RoLAC programme supported the third meeting of the SARC Network on 2 November 2017 in Abuja bringing together a broad selection of SARC stakeholders.
The meeting was well attended by 81 participants from 13 states: Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Borno, Cross River, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Niger, Yobe and Zamfara.
Over the next four years, RoLAC will continue to support the SARC Network to secure state government and private sector commitment to keep SARCs running in the long term and strengthen the cross-sector linkages that enable the provision of comprehensive support services to survivors of sexual assault.
In 2017, eight SARCs across Nigeria, including those in Lagos and Kano, assisted a total of 1,970 victims of sexual assault.
Anti-Corruption Day
ROLAC supported the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) to deliver a high level interactive event to mark International Anti-Corruption Day on Monday 11 December 2017 at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja
A total of 300 people attended, including senior government officials, representatives of Ministries and Departments, international development partners and members of the diplomatic corps, schools, media, CSOs and women’s groups. Several Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) and other law enforcement agencies including the EFCC, ICPC, BPP, NEITI, PCC and the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) were also present.
The event had two break out discussions. One focused on ‘‘A strategic and inclusive approach to the fight against Corruption - implementation of the National Anti-
Corruption Strategy (NACS)’’ led by panellists from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (NEITI), the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) and Office of the Auditor General.
The second session focussed on; ‘‘Recovering proceeds of crime for sustainable development’’, led by representatives from the EFCC, ICPC, FIRS and the NPF. Citizens and representatives of various CSO groups actively participated.
IATT supported a roadshow and a school debate competition award ceremony was part of the event. The debate was on, ‘‘Who has the greater role to play, the government or the people?’’; Aduvie International School Abuja emerged as the best debating group.
'...there is need for the deployment of practical ethical codes in order to increase citizens’ participation in the fight against corruption.'
Dr Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Mines and Steel and Chairman of the IATT
Implementing the Nigerian Criminal Justice Reform Agenda
Progress has been made in advancing domestication of the ACJ Law in Kano and Adamawa states. In November, RoLAC supported the 17-member Technical Committee inaugurated by the Attorney General of Kano State, Mr. Ibrahim Mukhtar, to review the draft ACJ Bill and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). A follow up meeting held in December produced a draft bill.
The clean draft will be subjected to validation by wider stakeholders before it is transmitted to the Executive Governor of the State for onward submission to the State House of Assembly as an Executive Bill. The Programme supported the working sessions of the technical committee that prepared the draft bill and will support the stakeholder validation workshop scheduled for January 2018.
In Adamawa, RoLAC facilitated meetings with the Attorney-General of the State, Chairman House Committee on Justice and Judiciary and the Chairman NBA, Yola chapter to reach a common understanding on support for the ACJ Bill on the floor of the State House of Assembly. This approach contributed immensely to the bill being passed after the second reading on 28 November 2017 and its progression to the committee stage.
