Khadijat Saidu, Birnin Kebbi
Zaki’s Gem Support Foundation has trained over 50 community leaders on paralegal services with the aim to assist victims of rape and gender violence and other vices in Bunza Local Government Area (LGA) of Kebbi state.
The one-day event had community and traditional leaders, women leaders, and security agencies in attendance.
In her remarks, the founder of Zaki’s Gem Support Foundation, Ambassador Nafisa Zaki said her NGO is collaborating with other NGOs in the state to train community leaders at Bunza Local Government Area of the state on rendering paralegal services to victims of rape, domestic violence and other social vices that are in-economical to our religion and society.
The simple definition of Para-legalism is the art of training and equipping non-lawyers with the basic knowledge of the law and legal procedures to enable them to enlighten their Community member.
Also, paralegal bridge the gap between the community, lawyers, judiciary, and the police, furthermore to follow up and investigate cases, among other duties.
As well we are targeting over 50 community leaders because they own people of the grassroots and more so they have the right to settle disputes or domestic violence in their respective communities.
The training beneficiaries are traditional rulers, religious leaders, officer’s in-charge of providing security in a local government, vigilante groups, urban, and rural youth leaders, and women
Other members of the paralegal committee are community-based organizations, retired teachers or civil servants, retired police officers, and student volunteers/ law students/ law, graduates.
Each ward of the local government will have one person as the representative in the local government paralegal committee, while under him ten members will be formed to serve at the ward committee level, so, this is a chain up the state and federal level.
Again, the important role to play as a paralegal is to encourage respect for human rights and the rule of law.
He or she promotes peace and positive change in the community.
A paralegal bridge the gap in the legal system by acting as a legal first aid service provider or first responder.
She also highlighted that her NGO is currently working in some states which includes Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kaduna as well as Borno and Niger states and we do offer this kind of capacity-building training and other skills acquisition knowledge, among other training that has direct bearing to the human lives.
We also partake in ensuring the enactment of VAPP Law and child rights protection law in Kebbi state which was passed into law on June 27, she added.
Speaking on behalf of the trainees, the District head of Bunzu, Alhaji Mustapha Bunza who was represented by DanGaladiman Bunza, Alhaji Abubakar Ruwa expressed their happiness and joy over the capacity-building training for community leaders in Bunza LGA by Zaki’s Gem Support foundation in collaboration with other NGOs, it is timely and apt because a lot of rape and domestic violence is becoming so rampant now, most particularly in our respective communities and village’s.
“However, I want to assure you of the district’s support and commitment to ensuring success and also to change the narrative of not reporting cases of rape or domestic violence among other social vices in our respective communities under our watch.
“We sincerely appreciate the founder of Zaki’s Gem Support foundation for bringing this kind of gesture to our district Bunza LGA as well.
“We thanked Bunza LGA for its support heads of security agencies in Bunza with all other people who contributed in one way or the other to the success of this program,” he said.
