The Katsina State Government has warned perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) that stringent measures await them if they are found wanting in committing such acts.
Governor Dikko Radda stated this on Tuesday afternoon during a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on GBV, Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), and Girl Child Education.
Represented by the state’s Information Commissioner, Dr Bala Zango, Radda said the state government would no longer sit back and allow vulnerable persons to be victimised by some unscrupulous elements.
He said relevant statutes have been passed by the State House of Assembly and endorsed by the government, to ensure that GBV perpetrators meet the full wrath of the law.
He said the government is concerned about cases of GBV, and that working in synergy with stakeholders is one important way to find a lasting solution to the issue.
He, therefore, called on relevant security agencies to ensure those found wanting in crimes related to GBV meet the requisite punishment.
He also called on people in the state to report cases of GBV in their communities, adding that such reports would receive the due attention they deserve.
On his part, a representative of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Musa Hadeja, identified rape as the most common case of GBV they receive daily.
Hadeja, however, said a setback is the reluctance of people to come forward and report cases of GBV and related crimes.
He encouraged people always to come forward whenever they witness such cases, especially a few minutes or hours after it happens.
He assured that the agency’s doors are always open to receive such cases and take necessary action to ensure the protection of vulnerable persons.
In other news, stakeholders and gender-rights advocates have intensified calls for the National Assembly to pass legislation guaranteeing reserved seats for women, warning that rising levels of violence against women are a direct consequence of their exclusion from political leadership.
They noted that 36 per cent of married women in Nigeria are survivors of intimate partner violence, while 96 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence.
The stakeholders spoke at the Women of Words (WOW) 2025 – All Creatives Hub organised by Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) in Abuja, under the theme “Unreserved for Reserved Seats: The Role of Women in Policymaking Towards Ending GBV.”
The event coincides with preparations by federal lawmakers to deliberate on the Reserved Seats for Women Bill (HB1349)—a milestone proposal aimed at increasing women’s political representation and strengthening institutional responses to gender-based violence (GBV).
Executive Director of GSAI, Adaora Sydney-Jack, said the alarming rate of intimate partner abuse in the country underscores the urgency of political reforms that give women equal access to decision-making.
She said, “Women are not lacking in competence. We have millions of women with courage, with capacity. We are lacking in space. While 2025 is another step in the long journey, a journey rooted in resilience and unshakable hope. Every day, 96 per cent of Nigerian women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced physical or sexual violence”.
Adaora said 36 per cent of married women are survivors of intimate partner violence, adding that for every woman who speaks, thousands of others swallow their pain in silence.
