Blog

THE BACKPACK

There are certain things in life that a privileged upbringing causes one to take for granted. The means may have changed over the years, but the level of privilege remains the same. Our parents who grew up in townships and urban cities, in the pre democratic, military era walked several miles to school, with sandals on their feet and satchels in their hands (those who could afford it)....Read More

POLICY BRIEF-CIVIL SOCIETY SITUATION ROOM AND NIGERIA’S 2019 ELECTIONS; ISSUES AND PATHWAYS

This policy brief examines the emergence of civil society situation rooms with specific reference to elections in Nigeria. It highlights some of the key drawbacks associated with the multiplicity of situation rooms in the country, at a time that the collective voices of civil society is required in the struggle towards deepening electoral democracy in the Country. Download Policy Brief  Read More

POLICY BRIEF: ENHANCING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE JUSTICE SECTOR

This policy brief highlights and reviews the findings of the various surveys conducted by Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, also known as Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN) in 2017 and 2018 on the implementation of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act applicable to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the respective Administration of Criminal Justice Laws in Lagos and Ondo...Read More

AN OPEN LETTER #INTERNATIONALWOMENSDAY

I struggled with what to write about for International Women’s Day; not for a lack of topics or content, but rather because of the availability of too many- Too many angles to broach this from, too many stories to tell, and too many ways to tell them. Do I speak about the women that have surpassed and exceeded all expectations and barriers and proven time and time again that women are not the...Read More

FROM #16DAYS TO 365

One in Four, One in Two, One in Six. These are the current statistics on Sexual and Gender Based Violence against women in Nigeria. One in Four girls has experienced sexual violence in their lifetime; one in two girls has experienced physical violence, and One in Six girls have experienced emotional violence. I’ve realized that while statistics play an important role in passing across a...Read More

POLICY BRIEF- INCREASING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE

Nigeria’s return to democracy in May 1999 rekindled hopes of having greater women participation in politics and governance. Unfortunately, in the last two decades, not much has been achieved in terms of an expansion of the political space in ways that would allow for the women to insert and assert themselves as active participants. Even though women represent a significant proportion of the...Read More

ACJL PLATEAU SIGNED INTO LAW

PWAN is pleased to inform the public, that the Plateau ACJL bill has been assented to by the Executive Governor, Plateau State on 25th September 2018. Through our #AccessNG project supported by the US Embassy Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), PWAN has been advocating for the adoption of the bill in Plateau State and has been carrying out advocacy efforts to...Read More

POLICY BRIEF- PRIORITIZING THE VOICES OF WOMEN IN SECURITY USING THE SECOND GENERATION NATIONAL ACTION PLAN (2017-2020)

The role of women in peace and security in Nigeria, as in other parts of Africa, has received very little attention and appreciation. Since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigeria has faced myriads of conflicts – from Boko Haram insurgency in the North East to militancy in the South-South; massacres of persons by herders in the middle belt to kidnapping in the South East; to mention a...Read More

POLICY BRIEF- NON STATE SECURITY ACTORS IN COMMUNITY POLICING AND ELECTION SECURITY

PWAN organised a 2-day Policy Dialogue on the Role of Non-State Security Actors in Community Policing and Election Security Management. The objective of the Dialogue was to commence the process of interactions with critical stakeholders on the possible role of non-state security and hybrid security actors in community policing and election security management. The Policy Dialogue, which held...Read More

POLICY BRIEF- CONSOLIDATING LEGAL AID APPROACHES IN KANO STATE

One of the projects of Partners West Africa, Nigeria (under its Rule of Law Program Area) is to consolidate the regime of legal aid in Kano State, Nigeria. The organisation, in conjunction with the Kano State Government, organised a 2-day Expert Level Convening on Consolidating Legal Aid Approaches in Kano State between the 26th and 27th of April, 2018. This brief summarizes the findings from...Read More

SHINING LIGHT ON KANO PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE

Behind the bolted doors of Kurmawa central prison in Kano State, Nigeria, an old wooden board hangs high on the wall of the warden’s office, keeping count of the inmates inside the prison. Written in white chalk, the board shows that over 1,000 men are held in this jail – a building that is intended to house no more than 750 –most of whom are not convicts at all. These men await trial. Among...Read More

POLICY BRIEF- PREVALENCE OF SEXUAL AND GENDER BASED VIOLENCE (SGBV) IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Gender-based violence (GBV) affects different demographic groups. The vulnerable groups in society (namely, women, children, youth, elderly and the physically challenged) are disproportionately affected. GBV has devastating consequences at social, economic, and personal levels because of the physical injuries, psycho social harm and general loss of productivity across different spheres....Read More