… Donates bus to FIDA at Ekiti Law Week
By Ayodele Abere
The Senate Leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, CON, has called for a shift from mere enactment of laws to effective implementation to guarantee justice and protection for women and children in Nigeria.
Bamidele made the call on Monday in Ado-Ekiti, while delivering the public lecture at the 2026 Law Week of the International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA Nigeria, Ekiti State Branch.
The lecture was themed: “Justice in a Changing World: Responding to New Challenges Affecting Women and Children.”
According to him, the theme addresses a fundamental question of whether the law can still protect the vulnerable when threats against them are mutating at terrifying speed due to globalisation, artificial intelligence, digitalisation, climate change and insecurity.
The Senate Leader noted that despite constitutional guarantees, women still face domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking, harmful traditional practices and technology-facilitated abuse, while children remain exposed to abuse, child labour, early marriage and digital exploitation.
He stressed that Nigeria must evolve a comprehensive framework that combines legislative reform, effective enforcement, institutional accountability, adequate funding and measurable results.
“A woman who suffers domestic violence must be able to seek protection without intimidation or social condemnation. A child who experiences abuse must be heard and protected. Justice must be more than a promise in our Constitution; it must be accessible, affordable, timely and effective,” Bamidele said.
He listed major challenges confronting women and children to include gender-based violence, economic inequality, underrepresentation in politics, poor healthcare, digital exclusion, educational deprivation, malnutrition and insecurity-induced displacement.
On legislative interventions, Bamidele said the 10th National Assembly, under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, has made inclusion of women and protection of children a core pillar of its Legislative Agenda anchored on the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He disclosed that the Assembly is giving priority to the Special Seats Bill for Women, which seeks to create 37 additional seats in the Senate, 37 in the House of Representatives and three seats in each State House of Assembly, reserved exclusively for women for 16 years.
“This is not a partisan endeavour but a historic imperative. It is a constitutional corrective measure. A democracy that systematically excludes over half of its population is at best a flawed democracy and at worst a veiled oligarchy,” he stated.
Bamidele added that the initiative has received strong support from the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and that the National Assembly is engaging State Houses of Assembly to secure concurrence.
He urged FIDA to serve as a critical partner in legislative oversight by demanding implementation of laws and release of appropriations for women and children.
Earlier, Chairperson of FIDA Nigeria, Ekiti State Branch, Mrs. Ayobami Olowoyo-Richards, said the theme was timely given emerging threats to the safety and dignity of women and children, and reaffirmed the association’s commitment to advocacy and legal protection.
The event, which was attended by traditional rulers, lawmakers, lawyers, academics and students, climaxed with the presentation of a brand new bus to FIDA Ekiti by Senator Bamidele to support its activities.
