No fewer than 883 cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) with 22 convictions have been recorded between January and December 2025 in Sokoto State.
The Director of Women Affairs in the Sokoto State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Hajiya Hauwa’u Umar-Jabo, disclosed this on Thursday during the GBV and Child Protection Technical Working Committee (TWC) quarterly meeting in Sokoto.
She said 251 of the reported cases came from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), while the Ministry of Justice handled 32 cases, including convictions.
She emphasised the need for a multi-sectoral approach and joint coordination among stakeholders to sustain the achievements.
She urged stakeholders to involve Gagi District’s community-led non-governmental organisation, Community Awareness and Development Initiative (CADI), and other available organisations in pursuing GBV cases across the state.
The Director noted that a new online reporting dashboard initiated by the ministry will soon commence service, in view of challenges faced with the previous one.
In his address, the Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Alhaji Abubakar Na’abu, said a database of service users, cases identified, referred, and managed will soon be available.
Na’abu said stakeholders working on gender-based violence are more mobilised and enlightened, and there is greater media involvement in their activities.
“The Ministry of Justice, security agencies, and courts are doing well in this regard. I commend NAPTIP, which was able to secure some convictions also,” he said.
Presenting their performance, the representative of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ms Margaret Bala-Nggada, emphasised the need for more awareness on GBV issues in the society.
Bala-Nggada said FIDA embarked on paralegal training for citizens across the local government areas of Sokoto state to create public knowledge on legal services and relevant laws existing in the state.
She said FIDA is currently handling seven criminal trials, including culpable homicide involving minors aged between 12 and 15 years, and is pushing for rehabilitation instead of punishment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that representatives of other organisations presented their respective performances from Jan. 2026 to date and reassured increased cooperation on response and referrals.
(NAN)
