Sarumi-Aliyu Decries Increase in Violence Against Women, Asks Buhari To Protect Womenfolk

Mrs. Bolanle Sarumi-Aliyu, the convener of BASA Foundation has decried the increasing wave of violent crimes against women. Sarumi-Aliyu, a one-time governorship candidate was speaking on the recent robbery at the female hostel of the Obafemi  Awolowo Hall, University of Ibadan, where robbers reportedly spent hours dispossessing their victims of valuables and physically assaulting some.

She called on the authorities of the school to beef up security around the campus and also work towards bringing the culprits to book. She said “this is an issue the President needs to take seriously. Women in Nigeria are fast becoming an endangered species and we as women feel used and neglected by the government of the day. Or how does one explain that students who were in their rooms in the hostel were attacked by armed robbers? And the university, though a community on its own, is a part of the larger society. It is evident that security needs to be beefed up around the womenfolk”.
Speaking further, she said “when you look at the Nigerian society at large, women get raped and brutalized almost on a daily basis. Look at the trend in the last one month or so; first there was a rape allegation which is still being investigated, then came the assault on a woman in an adult toy shop, the Awo Hall robbery, and many more that went unreported. Women are fast becoming targets of violent attacks. In Adamawa too, a Senator’s stepmother was kidnapped recently and now the whole country is talking about the tragic death of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin was murdered in cold blood recently”.
  Mrs. Sarumi-Aliyu, who called for stiffer penalties for violent crimes against women, said “as a Social Worker, I agree that the society needs a lot of reformation which should start from the home front. I will however advocate for stiffer penalties for crime against women. It is not just to serve as a deterrent but to curb some excessive tendencies that have become part of our society”. She opined that such crimes have indescribable effects that survivors sometimes find very difficult to overcome.
In a statement, the BASA convener disclosed that victims of the University of Ibadan robbery who might need counseling can reach out to her dedicated e-mail bolasarumialiyu@gmail.com after which sessions would be arranged for them. “I also have a daughter in the university and I can only imagine what those ladies must be going through”, she stated. 
“I sympathize with the students in Awo Hall; I encourage them to stay strong and focused. I urge them to see the incident as one of the ugly distractions that come with studying. I also commiserate with the Fasoranti and Olakunrin families. May the soul of the departed find rest. And I also call on the law enforcement agents to ensure that everyone that has a hand in the dastardly act is brought to justice”, she said.