Niger State recorded 175 reported cases of rape from January 2021 to July this year.
Out of the number, eight perpetrators were convicted and sentenced to various jail terms, the wife of the state governor, Dr Amina Sani-Bello said.
She said that the rape cases were reported to the RAYUWA Sexual Assault Referral Center (SARC) and the Police Gender Desk, adding that 60 cases were still being tried in courts across the state
She spoke at the close of a project workshop organised by the state gender-based violence committee supported by the Nigerian Academy of Science.
Bello, who chairs the committee, said the state also recorded 58 reported cases of wife/husband battery, 67 street hawking cases, 21 forced marriage cases, 3,500 reports of the withdrawal of girls from schools and a significant reduction of early marriage among the girl child across the state during the last 19 months.
She also lamented the rising trend of molestation of boys across the state, adding that there is a need to look into it and begin intensive advocacy to curb the menace.
“Our plans for the future is to expand the SARC services to all the LGAs in the state. We currently have one SARC in the general hospital in the State capital, Minna and working to set up three more in Lapai, Suleja and Kontagora. With more funding and support, we will be able to set up a SARC in all the 22 general hospitals in the State,” she said.