No fewer than 321 cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) were recorded in Sokoto between January and September 2021.
This was disclosed during the signing of the Sokoto State Child Protection Act into law by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal on Monday’s night.
There was an increase in the number of cases, compared to 241 cases recorded in 2020.
According to the report, 156 and 227 cases were recorded in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Speaking at the ceremony, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, commended the state for the passage of the bill which he said would protect children against any form of violence.
The coordinator recalled that there were so many attempts to pass the bill in the past but for some misunderstandings on the part of religious and traditional leaders in the state.
“Some of them held the view that the act was trying to bring western culture into Sokoto. This was why there were so many meetings and reviews before it was finally passed,” he said
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He said that, with the passage of the act, the state was taking the lead in child protection in the country which he described as a landmark achievement.
Professor Sambo Wali Junaidu, Wazirin Sokoto, however, explained that the meetings that preceded the passage were meant to make it suitable to their religion, culture and aspiration.
