50 Kids Raped Within The Past Four Months In Plateau State

According to a shocking data disclosed by Plateau State Government, about 50 children of all sexes have been raped in the state in the past four months, DailyTrust reports.

The reports also reveals that there has been a surge in the crime. Mrs. Rufina Gurumyen, the state commissioner for Women Affairs told newsmen in Jos, ahead of the launch of the state initiative to End Violence Against the Children (EndVAC), later this week says:

 “Our records show 50 recent cases of rape in the state. This is just within the last four months or so.”

The commissioner said the process of getting the data had been painstaking because parents of the rape victims were not keen on reporting the issue for fear of stigmatising their children.

“The last two cases are just days away; one in Jos involving a suspect who raped a child of two years, and another in Langtan. In Langtan, the suspect raped a disabled child.

The first one was found to have raped a child sometimes ago, but the family decided to conceal it. So this particular one, a neighbour reported to the ministry for us to track him and the family to start the case.”

Earlier, the UNICEF described the planned launch as a milestone in the global efforts to protect the child from violence.

”The media has a critical role here because of its importance as the voice to reach out to the people on this campaign,” Barrister Ladi Alabi, the Child Rights Protection Specialist of the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office said.

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Samuel Kaalu, the UNICEF Communications Officer, disclosed that Plateau State was among the first four to have keyed into the national campaign and the first in the North.