By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure
Some yet-to-be-identified hoodlums have reportedly attacked the residence of a member of the ‘Gender Frontier Development Initiatives’ (GFDI), Mrs Ibini Adenike Hannah, in Akure area of Ondo state over her campaign against female genital mutilation in the state.
Nigerian NewsDirect reports that the hoodlums stormed the residence located at Afunbiowo Estate, Akure, and attacked Mrs Ibini and destroyed many things in the house.
She, however, called the attention of the security agencies in the state to the attack against her and the group in the cause of discharging their social responsibility .
Recall that Ibini and Gender Frontier Development Initiatives, had been campaigning against the female genital mutilation in Ondo state, with the aims and objectives of creating awareness among all the school children on how to guide against rape, child labour, female genital mutilation and child trafficking. And to let them know what to do if such situations like that arise.
Ibini, however, described the attack on her by the hoodlums as an act of cowardice, insisting that the practice, female genital mutilation was not only archaic, but also violated the rights of female children and urged people to desist from such.
According to her, despite the attack on her and the group, the GFDI vowed to continue to frown at the female genital mutilation in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
She said; “FGM is a procedure involving partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organ for non-medical reasons. The act is globally recognized as an extreme violation of the rights of women and girls.
“In some societies, it is considered a rite of passage. In others, it is seen as a pre-requisite for marriage or attributed to religious beliefs. The practice is considered a means of maintaining chastity and preventing promiscuity or infidelity.
“We would continue to collaborate with the stakeholders to ensure total eradication of this female genital mutilation in our state and by extension throughout the country.”
As at the time of filing this report, efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Ondo command of the Nigeria Police, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, for comments were also unsuccessful, as calls to her telephones failed to connect.