The honorable minister of women affairs Pauline K. Tallen is pained over an allegation of none interference raised against her over the death of Karen, a student of Premier College Abuja.
In a press statement signed by Engr. Olufunso Adebiyi Permanent Secretary of the ministry reacted to a certain activist Lemmy Ughegbe called the minister in a programme Kakaaki on AIT claiming the minister was running what she called a roughshod when a young man was killed in Bwari. The full statement below reads
“The attention of the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen has been drawn to the allegation by a Rights Activist, Lemmy Ughegbe leading a Coalition of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) on African Independence Television (AIT)’s Kaakaki, that the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen “was running roughshod for the optics” when a young boy was killed in Kwali, and did not intervene in the issue of the death of the 14-year old Karen Happuch Aondodooo Akphgher, student of Premier Academy, Lugbe who later died of hyperglacemia is quite unfortunate and an unacceptable narration from Lemmy”.
“To say that the Honourable Minister did not feel concerned is quite far from the truth. If for the sake that the unfortunate incident had to do with a girl-child, the Honourable Minister who is widely known to be a serious advocate against sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls would have told that the Minister intervened”.
“It was for the controversies surrounding the issue and the fact that autopsy was being carried out along with other meaningful interventions that the Honourable Minister, Dame Pauline Tallen decided to be cautious to allow for discreet investigation”.
“Noise could not have been made, but the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen explored her closeness with the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba to ask for decisive intervention. This is particularly that the unfortunate incident is under the purview of the Education Sector Administration and moreso, the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (MFCT) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have assured that investigation is ongoing on the unfortunate issue”.
“Why then can anyone justifiably accuse Dame Pauline Tallen of complacence on the issues leading to the unfortunate and regretable death of dear Karen”?
“Dame Tallen will once again want to sieze this opportunity to condole with the family and friends of late Karen and pray that God grants them fortitude to bear this irreparable loss while we anxiously demand for justice on this unfortunate incident”.