News

I Apologise For Mutilating You, Let’s Reconcile, Former FGM Tells Estranged Daughter

Published

3 months ago

September 27, 2025

Mrs Bridget Omobude, 56, a former Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practitioner who cut girls for more than three decades, admitted to mutilating even her daughter, a decision that fractured their relationship.

For Omogbode, reneging on female genital mutilation, a trade she learnt and had been involved with from age 11, was because of her daughter, who had relocated abroad.

Her daughter called to confirm whether she was genitally mutilated as a baby. Her mother’s affirmation led to her daughter stopping talking or receiving her calls.

Although Mrs Omobude tried all she could, to date, her daughter had stopped talking to or receiving her calls.

Mrs Omobude, now an advocate for FGM, believes that maybe when her daughter reads about her apology, she might be forgiven.

Omobude said, “When I joined this programme, I was happy to be with the children. My family has always cared for children; it’s a tradition passed down from my great-grandmother to my mother and now to us. When they brought the children for the service, we held them so we could learn how to care for them properly.

“I have surrendered my knife as a cutter, though I used to carry out the procedure on only family members. But with the experience I am having with my daughter now, I recommend other cutters stop this hazardous act.”

Mrs Sakirat Makinde (not her real name) is a survivor of FGM and a mother of five girls and a boy. Three of her female children had already been cut (circumcised).

“I am a mother of six: a boy and five girls. Among those five girls, three are circumcised. The reason why the remaining two were not circumcised is that when I gave birth to my number five girl, there was no money to circumcise her,” recounted Mrs Makinde.

She added, “So when I gave birth to the last one, I was now planning to circumcise the two of them together. So when I heard that the money they told me was big, I went back home hoping that maybe later I would go back to circumcise them, but I didn’t go back.

“Till the beginning of this year, 2025, I was still planning to go for those two because they said when they’re not circumcised, they would not stay with one husband due to promiscuity myths and beliefs.

“This was about 12 years and nine years ago, as the children are now between 12 and nine years old. At that time, I was asked to pay N12,000 each for the two of them. It was while I was still planning how to circumcise them that a female chemist introduced the FGM programme to me, which I attended,” she said.

Another FGM survivor, Hannah (not her real name), said the painful experience has left her struggling to enjoy sexual intimacy with her partner.

The 38-year-old lady from the indigenous Igbo tribe in Enugu State said that she was cut without her consent on the orders of family members.

Hannah described FGM as barbaric and unnecessary, urging those involved in the practice to stop, saying the trauma still lingers, making her feel less feminine.

Meanwhile, Hannah, who was a victim of this act, joined the practice at age 25 and operated on girls, too. She told how girls were subjected to the surgery with no anaesthetic and bled severely.

She noted that the cutting comes with physical complications, severe pain, excessive bleeding, infections, urinary issues, menstrual problems, emotional trauma, and psychological effects, including anxiety, depression, and sexual dysfunction.

Another survivor of FGM and secondary school teacher, Doris Akare, in Edo State, was mutilated at 8 days old. This made her spend an extra three months at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LUTH.

“FGM is a no-no for me. Every mythical belief about the promiscuity of women is not good.”

She blames some elders for sticking to this traditional practice and harassing individuals who refuse to comply with their beliefs and values.

At a two-day media dialogue in Benin, organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Information and Orientation in collaboration with UNICEF, these survivors and campaigners shared their pains and the devastating impact of FGM.

They are transforming their personal trauma into powerful advocacy, determined to end a practice that continues to scar millions of Nigerian women and girls.

The Chief of UNICEF, Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucriere, said at the media parley that nearly 20 million women and girls in Nigeria had undergone FGM, ranking third highest globally.

“This is a huge number that we cannot be blind or deaf to,” she said.

Lafoucriere said that despite being outlawed in Nigeria, FGM persists in numerous Nigerian communities, adding that the practice is fuelled by myths and traditions and should be acknowledged as detrimental.

She emphasised that no cultural or traditional practice should compromise girls’ health, rights, or prospects.

In her remarks, Blessing Ejiofor, UNICEF Communication Officer at the Lagos Field Office, noted that while campaigns have led to a decline in FGM, the advocacy efforts aim for its complete elimination.

Ejiofor, who declared that no woman should undergo the harmful process of FGM, revealed that it was now a criminal offence in Nigeria to engage in it.

Moreover, the Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Lagos Office, Dennis Onoise, said that the testimonies from the survivors and former practitioners are enough evidence that FGM is not only harmful but also dangerous to the lives and livelihoods of women.

“We need to reach out to community members and say we want to abandon this practice. We can no longer continue with this practice; we are not helping the people we cut in terms of reproductive health. It doesn’t help the woman to enjoy her body. It does not curb promiscuity, so its purpose is defeated,” Onoise declared.
(TRIBUNE)

News

Grassroots To Global Podium: Edo Sports Commission Marks Enabulele’s First Year In Office

Published

13 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Editor

The Indoor Sports Hall in Benin City came alive on Wednesday as the Edo State Sports Commission rolled out the drums to celebrate the first anniversary in office of its Executive Chairman, Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele. Management, staff, coaches and athletes gathered in an atmosphere charged with pride, reflection and optimism.

The colourful ceremony drew executives and members of various sports associations, officials of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), coaches, athletes and other key stakeholders in Edo sports.

In her welcome address, the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Mrs. A. P. Amenze, praised Hon. Enabulele for what she described as focused and purposeful leadership. She said the past year had seen renewed confidence, discipline and energy return to the state’s sports ecosystem.

Adding excitement to the event were exhibition bouts and demonstrations by the Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo and Judo associations, staged in honour of the Executive Chairman.

Speaking for SWAN Edo State, Chairman Comrade Kehinde Osagiede commended Hon. Enabulele’s open-door leadership style and consistent support for sports development. He noted that the Commission had effectively driven Governor Monday Okpebholo’s “Catch Them Young” policy through practical grassroots programmes that identify and groom young talents across the state.

In recognition of his contributions to sports development and media relations, Comrade Osagiede conferred the Patronship of SWAN Edo State on Hon. Enabulele and presented him with a special anniversary card.

Goodwill messages followed from Executive Directors of the Commission, including Hon. Frank Ilaboya (Edo North), Coach Baldwin Bazuaye, MON (Edo South), Barr. Anthony Ikuenobe (Edo Central), and Mrs. Sabrina Chikere, Executive Director, Sports Development and Operations. Representatives of coaches, athletes and sports associations also took turns to acknowledge the progress recorded under the current leadership.

In his stewardship address, Hon. Enabulele expressed gratitude to Governor Monday Okpebholo and Deputy Governor Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa for the trust placed in him, noting that their backing and shared vision had driven the Commission’s achievements.

He highlighted Team Edo’s third-place finish at the 9th National Youth Games in Asaba, where the state recorded its best-ever outing with 79 medals—33 gold, 18 silver and 28 bronze—reinforcing Edo’s reputation as a national sports powerhouse.

The Chairman also pointed to the impact of inclusive and grassroots sports programmes, citing Favour Ojeabu, a visually impaired para-cyclist who won three gold medals to emerge Africa’s champion at the African Track Para-Cycling Championship in Egypt.

Other milestones listed included outstanding performances by Edo para powerlifters on the international stage, historic achievements in cricket, weightlifting, cycling, judo and deaf athletics, as well as structural reforms such as the repositioning of Bendel Insurance FC and deeper investment in grassroots sports development.

Cultural performances added colour and tradition to the celebration, as stakeholders closed the event united in their assessment of the past year as a truly transformative period for sports development in Edo State.

News

Otuaro Tasks Media On Objective Reportage

Published

21 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Editor

The Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Dr. Dennis Otuaro has charged media practitioners particularly members of the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum to promote ethical journalism through their reportage.

He gave the charge in Warri on Wednesday during the 2nd Annual Ijaw Media Conference organised by the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF).

Represented by Princewill Binebai, spokesman, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Otuaro while stating that the Niger Delta stories have been told in such a way that is quite different from what is obtainable in the real sense, said this, IPF must do everything possible to correct.

The administrator added: “I am happy that Ijaw journalists have boldly come out together to champion the Ijaw struggle in a very dynamic perspective”.

“The Ijaw story was misrepresented over the years, but IPF’s emergence had corrected this error and the story is gradually changing for better.”

Otuaro, however, challenged Ijaw media practitioners to be objective, truthful, accurate and fearless in their reportage to correct many years anomalies of the Ijaw struggle.

He admonished members of IPF to see themselves as brothers and love one another in the discharge of their activities to achieve a common goal.

News

Police Confirm Edo Tanker Explosion, say No Casualty

Published

21 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Editor

The Edo State Police Command has confirmed tanker explosions that rocked Auchi, the administrative headquarters of Etsako West Local Government Area of the state.

The Command’s Police Publice Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, who confirmed the incident via the phone, said the explosion occurred at about 6:30 p.m. following the fall of a fuel tanker along the road.

Ikoedem said the incident occurred on Wednesday evening at about 6:30 p.m. following the fall of a fuel tanker along the road.

She explained that spilled fuel seeped into underground tunnels, which later ignited and caused three explosions in different parts of the Auchi community.

According to her, officers from the Auchi Divisional Police Headquarters and the Area Command were mobilised to the affected areas and successfully cordoned them off to prevent loss of lives.

She added: “No casualty was recorded. Our men on ground were able to cordoned the affected areas.”

It was gathered that three separate explosions rocked the town simultaneously in different parts, which led to properties worth millions of naira destroyed.

A resident who does not want his name in print said via the telephone that the blasts occurred along Igbei Road, Igbo Shade, and along the Auchi–Okene Road, close to Winners Junction.

The resident, who alleged the explosions appeared to have been coordinated, called for a thorough investigation into the incident to prevent future occurrences.

Calls put across to Mr. Monday Edogiawere, Chairman, Red Cross, Edo State, were not picked.