Eight hundred and eighty-three cases of gender-based violence, with 22 convictions, were recorded in Sokoto between January and December 2025.

The director of women affairs in the Sokoto State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Hauwa’u Umar-Jabo, stated this on Thursday during the GBV and Child Protection Technical Working Committee quarterly meeting in Sokoto.

Ms Umar-Jabo said 251 of the reported cases came from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, while the Ministry of Justice handled 32 cases, including convictions. She restated 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.

Ms Umar-Jabo noted that a new online reporting dashboard, initiated by the ministry, will soon commence operations due to challenges faced with the previous one.

The acting permanent secretary of the ministry, Abubakar Na’abu, said a database of service users, cases identified, referred, and managed will soon be available.

Mr Na’abu said a database of service users, cases identified, referred, and managed will soon be available. He said stakeholders working on gender-based violence are more mobilised and enlightened, and there is greater media involvement in their activities.

Presenting their performance, the representative of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Margaret Bala-Nggada, reiterated the need for more awareness of GBV issues in society.

Ms Bala-Nggada said FIDA embarked on paralegal training for citizens across the local government areas of Sokoto State to raise public awareness of legal services and relevant laws 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.

(NAN)