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The Benue State Government has introduced a bill to create the Benue State Widows Commission, outlaw harmful widow-targeting practices, safeguard widows from exploitation, punish offenders, and accomplish related goals.

According to a statement released by Terver Akase, the governor’s special adviser on media and publicity, and made available to journalists in Makurdi, the Ortom administration’s decision to enact the law is based on the fact that the state is home to a number of ethnic groups, each with its own unique cultural norms and practices that have a negative impact on widows after the loss of their husbands.

“These include but are not limited to disinheritance from the assets of a deceased husband, banishment from a late husband’s home, being forced to marry a relation of the deceased husband etc.

“Benue State Council viewed that in some cases, a widow is likened to a property of the deceased to be inherited by his relations.

“Most often, such widows have children for the deceased and have the task of nurturing the
children without any assistance from the relatives of the deceased. In some instances, some are denied their fundamental rights enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

“It is in face of such a helpless situation of widows that the Ortom administration has initiated the bill in order to assuage the position of widows as regards inheritance of their late husbands’ assets and to protect and guarantee their fundamental rights as well as obviate the obnoxious cultural practices which deny them the right of inheriting their late husbands’ property amongst others.”

The purpose of the bill is to shield widows from monogamous and polygamous unions.

Furthermore, “The Benue State Widows Commission envisioned by the proposed law will have the power and responsibility to support, protect and build the capacity of widows in the state whereby they can own their property and inherit the assets of their deceased husbands. Consequently, the widows can fend for themselves and their children without harassment from any individual or group of persons.

“It shall be the duty of the Commission to, among others, coordinate and monitor the implementation of widows programmes and activities; initiate and support measures which shall enhance the welfare of widows; assist widows by providing support services; create awareness and sensitization of widows on the protection of their rights under a subsisting Widows Protection Law in the State; support international efforts and advocacy to uphold and expand. The rights of widows as enshrined in the international laws and conventions; evaluate the impact of the Commission on the plight of widows and make appropriate recommendations to the Benue State Government.

“There are also provisions in the Bill which annul repugnant cultural practices, create offences and prescribe punishments for infringement. Among the several sanctions stipulated by the Bill is that someone who subjects a widow to any harmful widowhood practice commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment or a heavy fine as contained in the law. The proposed law similarly provides for compensation to the affected widow or widows, among other measures.”

According to the statement, if the measure is approved by the State House of Assembly, it will put an end to one of the long-standing harmful customs among the populace and serve as a model for other regions of the nation to follow.

Dominic Raab announced he was stepping down on Friday as UK deputy prime minister after being faulted in a workplace bullying inquiry, dealing a fresh blow to the beleaguered Conservatives.

The resignation presents a headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had pledged a fresh start after his predecessors’ turbulent tenures, some two weeks before local elections at which the Tories are expected to lose seats.

Sunak is also battling to claw back a chasm of lost ground to the main opposition Labour Party before a general election next year.

Raab, who stood in for former prime minister Boris Johnson as he battled Covid in 2020, had promised to quit if any claims against him were upheld.

The report’s author Adam Tolley concluded Raab “acted in a way which was intimidating” at a meeting while foreign secretary and by threatening a civil servant with “unspecified disciplinary action”.

At the justice ministry, he was at times “abrasive” but not “abusive”, the report’s author added.

Even though he was cleared of all but two of the eight allegations against him, he blasted the conclusions of a lawyer-led inquiry launched last November.

In a lengthy riposte in the Daily Telegraph, he described the six-month investigation as “Kafkaesque” and a trial by media “fuelled by warped and fabricated accounts”.

– Low bar –In his resignation letter, Raab called the two findings against him “flawed” and said they “set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government”.

The bar for bullying was set so low, he said, that “it will encourage spurious complaints against ministers and have a chilling effect on those driving change”.

Raab also resigned from his post as justice secretary, where he has notably had to battle a backlog in criminal cases caused by years of under-funding and disruptions caused by the pandemic.

He previously served as Brexit minister and foreign secretary but was moved from that post after being criticised for failing to return from holiday as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

Sunak — who succeeded the short-lived Liz Truss in October last year — vowed to restore “integrity, professionalism and accountability” in government after Johnson’s rollercoaster tenure.

The prime minister said he accepted his resignation “with great sadness”, praising his record in government and for promising to resign if any of the complaints were upheld.

He replaced Raab at justice with lawyer Alex Chalk and made Oliver Dowden deputy prime minister.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner accused Sunak of weakness, for not sacking Raab before he quit.

Sunak previously sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman over his tax affairs.
Gavin Williamson, a former defence secretary who kept a tarantula on his desk while in charge of party discipline in parliament, quit over expletive-laden messages.

– Fight-back –Former lawyer Raab, a karate black belt, has denied bullying civil servants working for him during his time at the Brexit ministry, foreign office and Ministry of Justice.

He rejected allegations of an overbearing manner with colleagues, insisting that ministers “must be able to exercise direct oversight with respect to senior officials over critical negotiations conducted on behalf of the British people”.

Not to do so, he said, would mean the loss of “the democratic and constitutional principle of ministerial responsibility”.

He also maintained ministers “must be able to give direct critical feedback on briefings and submissions to senior officials in order to set the standards and drive the reform the public expect of us”.

“Of course this must be done within reasonable bounds,” he went on.

Tolley said there was “no persuasive evidence” that Raab shouted at civil servants or swore, and there was “no sound basis” he was vindictive or used physical gestures in a threatening way.

No one told Raab — who described himself as “demanding, driven and focused on detail” — that his communications with civil servants at the three ministries could amount to bullying, he said.

But Tolley said he could have realised it was a possible issue, as senior officials raised his management style with him.

Raab said he was “genuinely sorry for any unintended stress or offence that any officials felt”.

But he maintained the public had a high expectation of ministers working on their behalf.