The Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye has expressed dissatisfaction with the incessant cases of mariticide and uxoricide in the society, stressing that a broken home is better than being killed by one’s spouse.
He called for a reorientation towards the perspective of some people about a broken home, explaining that the era of looking down on people with separated homes must stop.
The Speaker stated this at Wednesday’s plenary while receiving the wife of the governor, Kafayat Oyetola, who came on an advocacy visit to the State House of Assembly.
Owoeye called for the strengthening of counseling mechanisms to help guide, nurture marriages and protect victims of domestic and gender-based violence and in most extreme cases reabsorb those whose marriages are beyond repair into the society.
He said, “The time is nigh for us to begin to sensitize married couples that a separated home is better than six feet below. A marriage that is not working; is not working, the idea of looking down on people with separated marriage must stop.
“To further break the cycle of such abuses, the Assembly will further review all existing laws and policy instruments relating to offenses of rape, child defilement and gender-based violence in our dear state”.
The wife of Osun governor, Mrs. Oyetola said her visit to the Assembly was to seek the support of the House on the issues of rape and sexual violence that has constituted a clear danger to women and girls and the practice of open defecation.
She said, “Although we have the violence against persons prohibition Act 2015 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which has not been domesticated here, I must say that our State is not lacking in the relevant laws required to exterminate conducts such as rape and sexual violence in the state.
“The reality is that we still have the prevalence of this conduct and the incidence is assuming a proportion that threatens our peace and development as a state”.
Oyetola added that rape and sexual violence cases should not be allowed to assume an uncontrollable situation in the state.
