Date: 2021-03-15

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at the weekend decried the rising cases of domestic violence in Kwara state.

It added that incidences of domestic violence against children and women are alarming in the state.

The commission said that it had recorded from January till date, it has recorded no fewer than 200 cases of battery and domestic violence in the state.

Kwara state Coordinator of NHRC Jumoke Olaoye told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital on the sideline of programme organised by the Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication (CCEPE in partnership with ActionAid Nigeria to commemorate this year International Women's Day.

The theme of the event is "women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in COVID-19 world."

Olaoye said: "You see husbands their wives to a state of being admitted even in the hospitals. We see a lot of reports. As we speak from January to this day we have received close to 200 cases of domestic violence that we are tracking. The rate is alarming and needs to do something about it fast.

"The way out is to keep sensitizing and keep telling people to come and speak out when they are being molested or when their rights are being violated.

"So many people particularly the educated ones are not ready to come. Meanwhile, some of them are dying in silence. We have a commission that will fight for their right probe no (free of charge).

"Apart from that, we have major stakeholders like the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and other non-governmental organizations that we are collaborating. Even the ministry of women affairs and social development is our major stakeholder and partner in seeing that women in the state live up to expectations so that domestic violence will be reduced to the barest minimum.

"The reports we get on rape cases are not as high as that of domestic violence. Rape cases for the minors are happening and we get reports and documents to back them up." Corroborating NHRC coordinator, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Kwara state Hafsat Ibrahim urged girl children to acquire skills and tactics to defend themselves when been attacked.

Hajia Ibrahim said that "our girl children need to be trained on the skills and tactics of how to protect themselves because of sexual gender-based violence that skyrocketed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have many cases of girls being raped reported at the ministry. We are not happy about these. We want parents to consider the safety of their children when they are not around. They need to ensure the girl children are always on good hands when the parents are not at home to curb the rate of incidences rampant currently in society.

"The girl children should be trained in the tactics of Karate, Judo and the like. It is good for them. Let the rapists see the women in sports. This will enable the girls to defend themselves when they are being attacked."