Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development

Women with multiple burden; they will sure make meaningful contributions in decision making processes.

Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum, Rivers State Chapter had her 2026 Summit and Awards ceremony at the Golden Tulip on Thursday August 20. The event had a key note address from Mrs Chinyere Okorocha on "Empowered and Successful Female Lawyers".

Awards were given to outstanding individuals for their contributions to advancing the growth of NBAWF.

Webinar Report Summary: Strengthening Festival Safety, Human Rights, and Cultural Preservation in the South-South; Lessons from the Ozoro Intervention in Delta State
Date: 31 July 2026

Hosted by: South-South SGBV Info Hub, with support from Gender and Development Action (GADA)

Meeting Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QsHm_Bb1zgZB_xHt3WGkCJg86l_0UAeW/view?usp=drivesdk

Moderator: Inyingi Irimagha, Coordinator, South-South SGBV Info Hub

On 31 July 2026, the South-South SGBV Info Hub convened a knowledge-sharing webinar to examine the multi-stakeholder response to the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) incident that occurred during the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro Kingdom, Delta State, on 19 March 2026. The session, supported by Gender and Development Action (GADA), brought together civil-society organisations, traditional and community leaders, and regional partners to document lessons, clarify cultural context, and develop practical strategies for safer, rights-respecting cultural festivals across the South-South region.

Dr. Eka Williams provided the strategic opening, positioning the intervention as a deliberate model of collaborative, context-driven response. She emphasised that GADA and the South-South SGBV Info Hub had played a critical role in initiating and sustaining the process, facilitating regional deliberation, supporting proposal development, and enabling partners on the ground, particularly the Community Empowerment and Development Initiative (CEDI), to design and implement a survivor- and community-centred intervention without displacing local leadership. “As the hub and as GADA, we are excited to be part of the process… we are not taking over from what partners in Delta State are doing; we are there to work together,” she stated, underscoring the Hub’s commitment to learning, amplification, and cross-state application of lessons.

Moderator Inyingi Irimagha framed the discussion by outlining the Hub’s regional coordination function and the pathway from the viral incident to funded action. She highlighted how collective Hub engagement enabled CEDI to secure support from Urgent Action Fund Africa and to pursue a comprehensive response that prioritised stakeholder mapping, legal awareness, and survivor-centred approaches.

Lead discussants presented detailed findings:

Martha Onose (CEDI) documented advocacy visits, a closed-door situational assessment, a participatory rally, and a multi-stakeholder town-hall meeting. The intervention clarified that Alue-Do is a longstanding fertility festival whose authentic intent had been misrepresented and hijacked.

Critical gaps; low VAPP Law awareness and enforcement, single-language festival announcements in a metropolitan setting, and weak protection mechanisms were identified and partially addressed through expanded collaborations with the Ministry of Justice, police, Southern Delta University, and SARC operators. Hotlines were disseminated and expanded SARC access in Ozoro Kingdom were one of the key advocacy asks.

Inatimi Odio of FACE Initiative detailed the participatory development of the Ozoro Festival Safety and Respect Charter. He systematically mapped observed violations against specific provisions of the VAPP Law (sexual violence, coercion, intimidation, deprivation of liberty, harmful traditional practices, and emotional/psychological abuse, among others) and facilitated community-owned strategies organised around communication protocols, policing, crowd control, orientation, stakeholder accountability, and monitoring. The resulting charter is designed as a replicable regional template.

Diolu Tobechukwu Prosper (Lincgreen Initiative) examined narrative construction and the behavioural drivers of the violence. Informal engagements with young people revealed deep-seated objectification of women and girls, the influence of internet-fraud culture, drug use, and opportunity-seeking attitudes among some non-indigene youth. He stressed the necessity of innovative engagement with men and boys and the importance of a documentary that centres survivors rather than community reputation management.

Throughout the session, Inyingi Irimagha provided bridging commentary that reinforced survivor-centred principles, the coordination strength of the South-South SGBV Info Hub’s model, and the reputational and human-rights imperatives of transparent Sexual and Gender Based Violence response by the community.

The open feedback segment featured substantive contributions from Uzoma Kelechi, Egbilika Josiah, Chief Constance Meju, Madam Ebiere Bright, Mr. Bright Oniovokuor, Madam Loretta Ahuokpeme, and Madam Benita Opia of Benny's Development Initiative.

Participants affirmed the linkage between economic drivers (including wire-fraud culture) and SGBV, called for multi-language communication of cultural festivals wit certain restrictions, traditional-leader ownership of the VAPP Law, where these leaders ensure cultural festivities are guided by the VAPP Law, and expanded the discussion to non-cultural festive events, and insisted that survivor well-being must take precedence over community reputational protection.

Key learnings include:

The necessity of establishing authentic cultural context beforeresponse design

The supremacy of existing National and State Laws over custom

The power of multi-level stakeholder engagement in addressing Sexual and Gender Based Violence at Community levels

The dangers of silencing survivors and vicitms of SGBV in order to protect the reputation of the community

The urgent need for innovative men-and-boys initiatives to tackle the scourge of Sexual and Gender Based Violence across communities

The need for geographically equitable SARC access specifically in Ozoro and across Delta State. This can be a learning point for other South-South States.

The value of participatory, VAPP-grounded safety protocols for cultural festivals and other forms of festivities.

The webinar affirmed that culture itself is not the adversary; the absence of rights-based safeguards, survivor-centred safeguarding systems, and accountable institutions is.

Coordinated action by the South-South SGBV Info Hub, GADA, CEDI, and partners has begun to convert a local crisis into a platform for prevention, healing, and replicable practice.

Sustained implementation of the safety charter, expanded service access, rigorous VAPP enforcement, and innovative engagement with men and boys will determine whether the lessons of Ozoro become a lasting regional turning point in the protection of women and girls during cultural and festive life.

Summary prepared by Inyingi Irimagha.

South-South SGBV Info Hub Webinar - 2026/07/31 11:55 WAT – Recording

On Monday August 17, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe) was invited for an interactive session on Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on Layered Risks faced by young, focusing on nexus between early child exposure to exploitation, sexual exploitation and forced early marriage; conveyed by RWDC, GADA and C4J.

The discussions were quite engaging. There is need to have our SARc Center strengthened to help curb SGBV.

On Tuesday and Wednesday,
12th and 13th of August, 2026 Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe) attended the Child snd Family Law Conference organized by Scepter and Prima Legal Consult which took place at the Justice Mary Odili Judicial Institute, Bank Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

The Conference was filled with thought-provoking conversations, valuable perspectives, and shared learning.

Also witnessed was the launch of Children book 'What Does the Law Say?', the textbook, 'Child Administration in Nigeria: Principles, Procedures and Practices', 'Children's Rights and Family Law Journal' and 'The Child's Lawyer' Repository/Database.

Keynote Address on What does Justice Mean for Children in Nigeria?

Presentations on panel discussions were made on:

- Equipping the Legal Practitioner for Nigeria's Demographic Realities: A Case for Child Justice Education in Legal Training

- Principles of Child Justice Administration in Nigeria: Foundation for Law and Practice

- AI, the Digital Environment and Children: Navigating and Shaping the New Language

- Correction without Criminalization: The Role of Diversion in Child Justice Administration.

- Rehabilitation by Design: Rethinking and Reforming Child Detention in Nigeria.

- Understanding the Rudiments of Adoption: Child Care, Rights and Responsibilities.

It was two impactful days of learning new insights, renewed perspectives, and practical knowledge to take forward.

The Child and Family Law will enhanse the safeguarding of children. Let's protect and uphold the rights of children to curb Sexual And Gender Based Violence (SGBV), child exploitation and abuse.

The Child and Family Law Conference 2026

AI, the Digital Environment and Children: Navigating and Shaping the New Landscape

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly woven into children’s everyday lives, the need for thoughtful legal, technological, and policy responses has never been greater.

At the conference, we examined how we can navigate the opportunities and challenges of an AI-driven world while shaping digital environments that respect, protect, and advance the rights of every child.

EUFORDe is glad to be a part of the conversation, which centered on diverse perspectives on one of the defining issues shaping the future of children in the digital age.

Child and Family Law Conference 2026

AI, the Digital Environment and Children: Navigating and Shaping the New Landscape

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly woven into children’s everyday lives, the need for thoughtful legal, technological, and policy responses has never been greater.

At the conference, we examined how we can navigate the opportunities and challenges of an AI-driven world while shaping digital environments that respect, protect, and advance the rights of every child.

EUFORDe is glad to be a part of the conversation, which centered on diverse perspectives on one of the defining issues shaping the future of children in the digital age.

IYD, 12 August

This International Youth Day, we celebrate the power, creativity, and resilience of young people. You are not just the leaders of tomorrow, you are the change makers of today, agents of peace, justice, and sustainable development.

In communities impacted by extractivism, SGBV, Conflicts, your voices matter. Your action today shapes a healthier, safer tomorrow for all. Your leadership matters, and your future is now. Keep speaking up, keep building, keep leading.

Let’s invest in youth, protect their rights, and amplify their voices. Let’s listen, support, and invest in young people leading change in our communities.