Cases Of Sodomy, Rape On The Rise In Kano – FIDA
The International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA, Kano State chapter has raised alarm over increase in cases of sodomy and rape recorded in the state.
The Chairperson, Barrister Huwaila Ibrahim made this known during a sensitization programme on Sexual Gender-Based Violence, SGBV organized for residents of Gwale local government area by the Sisters Keepers Initiative, SKI with support from Nigeria Policing Program, NPP.
Bar. Huwaila said in the past and in a year it recorded three cases of sodomy but has now increased to 30 in a year.
She, however, charged the parents on their parental role of proper upbringing of their children and their peer groups while also counselling them on how to preserve evidence in order to bring perpetrators or culprits to book.
According to her, “we told the parents about how evidence will be preserved if their wards are raped particularly minors. What if they noticed that their child is violated or abused, they should just take them to the police station or hisbah or whichever is closer to them before they take the victim to the hospital.
They should take them in the state they are found. After the check, everything they have on the child’s body should be preserved. Don’t wash it to serve as evidence before the court of law.
“We also urged the parents to be very watchful of their wards particularly now, that the cases of unnatural offences are getting higher than before.
And it is a clarion call on the parents to also look after their wards. In the past five years, I could remember, in a year at most we get three cases but now it has reached to a place that we can get as much as 25 or even 30 cases in a year of the boys. And this also getting rampant,” Bar. Ibrahim said.
Similarly, President, SKI, Hajia Halima Zubairu urged the women to be their sister’s keepers by reporting any case of rape in their neighbourhood.
According to him, “People here in Gwale local government are faced with issues of unnatural rape, lack of awareness on prevention. Majority of them here are widows and divorcees at least 47% out of 100 according to the statistics we got. They live with a high rate of poverty and so they lack the capacity to support themselves and their children.
So due to these, it results in a lot of neglect and lack of character for training the children.
“So we are here to give them awareness and educate them on the cautions, precautions and immediate access to security because they don’t understand there is human right commission, NAPTIP, and other roots were to take up their complain and matters.
“Our message is for them to collaborate with each other, the security and any kind of authority. Not to clean evidence, not to hide proves that all these crimes are happening in there communities.
Because if it happens to your neighbours and you keep quiet it will come back to you as well. So we are teaching them that as we are Sisters Keepers they are also their sister’s keepers as well and should report rape cases in their neighbourhoods,” Hajia Zubairu said.
