TheCable

Hafsat Baba Ahmed, Kaduna commissioner for human services and social development, says between January and May 2020, 485 rape cases were recorded at the sexual abuse referral centre in the state.

The statement comes a few weeks after Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police (IGP), said 717 rape cases were recorded across the country in five months.

Speaking on a radio programme on Wednesday, Ahmed said the figure excludes the cases that were recorded by security agencies in the state.

The commissioner said Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna governor, has asked that all rape cases recorded since 2015 be submitted to him.

“It is not only girls that are being raped, even boys are not spared. If I tell you the number of rape cases we recorded five month ago, you woul be surprised,” she said.

“This number is only from our sexual abuse referral centre. From January to May, we recorded 485 cases of rape.

“We must wake up, because everyday, from morning to evening, I receive one complain or the other. Honestly, we must work hard.
My concern is that most times, parents don’t monitor their children. Some parents don’t know their responsibilities.

“I am handling a case where a father sleeps with his three daughters, aged three, five and eight. All the time I keep on blaming parents when their little children are raped.”

The commissioner said special courts would be established to handle rape cases.

“Sometimes even when the parents of a rape victim wants justice, they are frustrated when they are asked to provide this and that at the police station,” she said.

“A child is raped and they will ask the parents of the victim to be bringing food to the culprit who is in the cell. That is not fair.”