Women
THE Wife of the Kogi State Governor, Hajia Rashida Bello, on Wednesday said that she would do all within her powers to protect the rights of women and children in the state.
She gave the assurance when a delegation of the Kogi State Branch of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) paid an advocacy visit to her office in Lokoja on the subject: “War against Rape”.
She condemned the alarming rate at which innocent girls were being raped in recent times across the country, and promised to join in the fight against the menace.
Bello represented by her Senior Special Assistant on Administration, Mr Victor Okee, commended the initiatives of the Commission for embarking on the protest against denial of children of their rights in the society.
She noted that government at all levels, religious leaders and other relevant stakeholders in the country have serious roles to play in strengthening the existing laws against rape and working toward the protection of the rights of women and children.
According to the governor’s wife, rape has no place in our society, hence, the need for all hands to be on deck in creating awareness on the rights of our children and the need to protect them at all times.
She warned against stigmatisation of victims of rape by the society saying people should endeavour to give them motivation and encouragement anytime they narrated their ordeals.
“I will not hesitate to give financial assistance to parents of rape victims in prosecuting rape cases in courts of law to ensure that justice is obtained,” she said.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of NHRC, Mr. Nuhu Mohammed, informed the governor’s wife that most of the rape cases before the police had been withdrawn.
He said that this was due to lack of funds by the parents of the victims to prosecute the matters in the law court.
He, therefore, called on the Governor’s Wife and the Ministry of Women Affairs to render financial support to the poor parents to enable them pursue cases of rape involving their children to their logical conclusions. (NAN)
– Jun. 17, 2020 @ 18:12 GMT |
Tags: Kogi Gov’s wife promises to join fight against rape
