Mrs. Priscilla Otti, the wife of Abia State’s governor, has provided financial assistance to five survivors and called on the federal government to create more robust procedures to outlaw female genital mutilation nationwide.
Mrs. Otti made the call on Friday in a statement to mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, held in Umuahia, the state capital. She described FGM as a gross violation of the fundamental rights of girls and women.
According to her, female genital mutilation has no medical benefit and exposes victims to severe pain, trauma, infections, complications during childbirth, and lifelong psychological damage.
“Female genital mutilation does not make childbirth safer, nor is it prescribed by any religion. Culture is meant to protect life and dignity. Any practice that harms girls and violates their bodily autonomy is not culture; it is violence,” she stated.
Mrs. Otti emphasized that Abia State has taken a firm legal stance against the practice, noting that the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act has been fully domesticated in the state.
“The law is clear in Abia State. I wish to state unequivocally that female genital mutilation is a criminal offence under our state law,” she said.
She, however, stressed that legislation alone is not sufficient to eliminate the practice, calling for effective implementation, public education, reporting, and enforcement.
The governor’s wife further urged stakeholders, traditional rulers, and faith-based organisations to take the lead in ending FGM through sustained advocacy, commitment, and investment.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Women Affairs in Abia State, Dr Maureen Aghukwa, described FGM as a harmful practice that inflicts deep emotional trauma on victims and, in some cases, leads to death. She was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Affairs, Mrs Chinenye Nwaka, who noted that despite global and national interventions, millions of girls are still subjected to the practice.
She reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to protecting the rights of girls and ensuring that female genital mutilation is completely eradicated by the year 2030.
In their separate remarks, Mrs Onyinyechi Nwosu of the Child Protection Network, Naomi Chinyere of Caritas Nigeria, Barrister Chidimma Alozie of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), and the guest lecturer, Dr Ngozi Okechukwu, unanimously agreed that legislation alone cannot end FGM.
They called on all stakeholders to intensify awareness campaigns and sustain long-term investments aimed at eliminating the practice.
