Kogi State Office of the Public Defender and Citizens' Rights Commission

08/12/2023

Day 2 of the awareness program continued at Suitoria hotels Lokoja.
Hon AG Kogi state Ibrahim Sanni Muhammed SAN. represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice in his remarks described the Vapp Law, 2022 as a “Landmark achievement in the fight against Violence Against Persons in Kogi State.” Furthermore The Chief Judge of Kogi State, Justice J.J Majebi who was represented by Justice Etsu Umar supports the lofty objectives of Vapp Law which is aimed at curbing Violence in all forms.
The Director General in his opening remarks highlighted some of the challenges in implementing the law. Other Critical stakeholders present are the Director, State Security Service, CSOs, FBOs NBA etc.
The program also had insightful panel discussions on the Overview of Kogi Vapp Law, Roles of Protection Officers, Institutions involved in the enforcement of Vapp Law etc.

08/12/2023

In view of the need to further sensitize Kogi state residents on the provisions of Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2022 in preparing ground for effective implementation, The Commission organized a 2 day Awareness and sensitization program on the 2nd and 3rd day of November, 2023. Law Officers from Ministry of Justice and the Commission, Law Enforcement officers, Magistrates, Members of Nigeria Bar Association, Civil Society Organisations, Faith Based Organisations,Tertiary and Secondary school Students etc were targeted as participants.
The Awareness Program was kickstarted by a walk around Lokoja township. Armed with Jingles and music and fliers, Lokoja township was enlightened with Salient provisions of the Law.

29/08/2023

The Director General PDCRC Barr Abdullahi W Zakari is attending the ongoing 63rd Nigeria Bar Association Annual General Conference scheduled to hold between 25th August - 1st September 2023 at the M.K.O Abiola Stadium Abuja.
The conference is a platform for knowledge exchange as world leaders, political icons, judges, leading lawyers, thought leaders, policy makers, business icons, and civil society to not just discuss but produce an implementation plan to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices leading to socio-political stability, economic growth, sustainable and infrastructural development for accelerated regional and economic integration.
The Conference features enlightening presentations such as “Access to Justice, Reality or unfulfilled expectation”. Speaker. Mr Bryan Stevenson ( founder: Equal Justic initiative).
“Challenges and Opportunities of Pro Bono work in Nigeria”.Speaker Funmi Ayeni (Chief Executive Public Interest Law partnership” among other interesting sessions.
The DG also interacted with Old classmates and Notable individuals such as The Honorable Attorney General of Kogi State, Ibrahim Sanni Muhammed SAN. Chief Judge of Adamawa state, Hon Justice Hafsat Abdulrahman, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and And Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi and others.

08/07/2023

On the 13th and 14th June 2023, The office of the Public Defender and Citizens’ Rights Commission (PDCRC) Kogi State had a two-day Capacity-building workshop on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Interest-Based Negotiation Mechanism (IBNM) for the Law officers of PDCRC and Kogi State Ministry of Justice in Idrinana hotel Lokoja.
The event was organized by the Savannah Centre for Democracy and Development, Pastoral Resolve (PARE), and Mercy Corps Nigeria (MCN), under the Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP) Project.
The objective of the study Is to sharpen ADR skills of the law officers of PDCRC and Ministry of Justice and also introduce them to Interest based negotiations mechanism adopted by Mercy Corp.
Barr. Abdullahi Zakari the Director General of PDCRC, in his opening remarks stated that in PDCRC, 60% of the operations of the commission is on ADR, because the governor established her to resolve dispute amicably, so that it can strengthen the peace in the state. He further stated that “The Governor link peace directly with development. He believes having strong institution that takes care of all these issues without necessarily going to court would engender peace and unity in Kogi and further stressed that He is expecting the law officers to be more efficient, effective and deliver on the objectives for the establishment of PDCRC
The highly interactive sessions were anchored by Sani Suleiman. Deputy Chief of Party. Mercy Corp.

01/07/2023

The Public Defender Citizens Rights Commission (PDCRC) Kogi State in collaboration with Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD) and Mercy Corps and Pastoral Reserve (PARE) held a two-day Capacity building for Professional stakeholders on implementation of Kogi state Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Law,2022 on the 23rd and 24th May,2023.
The objective of the program was to raise lively and thought-provoking discourse on various issues relating to Understanding the provisions of the Kogi State Vapp Law,2022.
The training program featured very enlightening presentations and interactive sessions such as “Introduction to the provisions of Kogi State Vapp Law 2022” and “Institutions involved in the implementation of Kogi State Vapp Law, 2022” presented by Barr. Abdullahi W.Zakari. (DG. PDCRC), “Appraisal of offences under the Kogi VAPP Law,2022”and “The role of Enforcement Agencies in implementing the VAPP Law, 2022” presented by Barr EVBU O. Igbinedion (Office of the Director Magistrate FCT High Court) “Role of protection officers in the implementation of Kogi VAPP Law, 2022” and “Prosecution of VAPP offences and remedies available to victims of violence against persons.”presented by Barr Chidiebere Pascal Ugochukwu (Naptip Senior Intelligence Officer)
In attendance was the Chief Judge of Kogi State who was represented by Justice R.O Ayoola and the Hon. Attorney General of Kogi State who wasrepresented by Barr Tunji Ojuekaye (Deputy Director Civil Litigation, Ministry of Justice), Barr I.O Alhassan (Chairman NBA Lokoja) Ambassador Sani Bala (Executive Director SCDDD), Eunice Abimbola Agbogun (Exective Director, CPI). Others in attendance are Law Officers from PDCRC and Ministry of Justice who will serve as protection officers, Members of the NBA, Magistrates, Police officers, NSCDC officers and other professional stakeholders.

04/02/2023

On the 2nd day of February,2023. The Director General PDCRC along with a Law Officer of the Commission paid a working visit to Chief of Party, National Democratic Institute (NDI) Abuja. The visit among others afforded the DG the opportunity to introduce the Commission and her activities to the management of NDI and also discuss possible areas of Partnership, Collaboration and Support.
Chief of Party, Kelly Jones received the delegates of the Commission in her office along with other members of management. She Commended the Commission for her modest achievements so far and also the DG for birthing impactful ideas in managing the Commission. She further gave her commitment to working with us and also to link the Commission to other Development partners working on Access to Justice.

16/12/2022

08/12/2022

08/12/2022

https://kogireports.com/kogi-pdcrc-partners-aga-africa-train-200-law-officers-on-oral-advocacy-electronic-evidence/

Spread the loveTweetBy Stephen Adeleye. The Kogi State Office of the Public Defender and Citizens’ Rights Commission (PDCRC) has collaborated with the Attorney General Alliance – Africa (AGA -Africa) to train 200 law officers on ”Oral Advocacy and Electronic Evidence in Criminal Prosecution an...

03/12/2022

https://twitter.com/theidealngr/status/1598917951670915072?s=48&t=8S_1YSv1qySnapxxdSaSPw

“AGA-Africa trains 200 lawyers on oral advocacy, electronic evidence in criminal prosecution, defence https://t.co/ikkDviBsNG”

03/12/2022

https://theideal.ng/aga-africa-trains-lawyers/

The Attorney General Alliance AGA -Africa has trained about 200 lawyers in Kogi State on Oral Advocacy and Electronic Evidence in Criminal

24/11/2022

The Public Defender Citizens Rights Commission (PDCRC) Kogi State held a two-day VAPP implementation study engagement with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on the 17th and 18th November 2022. The event was organized by the Savannah Centre for Democracy and Development, Pastoral Resolve (PARE), and Mercy Corps Nigeria (MCN), under the Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP) Project.
The objective of the study engagement was to appraise issues relating to the implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 in the Federal Capital Territory, to guide the Public Defender and Citizens Rights Commission (PDCRC) in the seamless and effective enforcement of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law in Kogi State.
The Study engagement had in attendance Law officers from PDCRC and Ministry of Justice as well as representatives of Civil Society Groups. It also had representatives of NAPTIP including Directors of the Public Enlightenment department and Violence Against Persons Prohibition Department, representatives of the Legal and Prosecution Department as well as the Counselling and Rehabilitation Department. The study engagement featured very enlightening presentations and interactive sessions between both agencies.
The study engagement exercise helped in successfully setting the stage for an effective and successful implementation of the VAPP Law in Kogi State.