The number of reported rapes in Niger State appears to be rising, with adults abusing even the youngest victims, who are just four years old. The majority of rapes get unreported to the authorities, and the offenders often get away with it.
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Reportedly, there are a few cases that go unreported for various reasons, including a lack of resources to investigate them and a fear of stigmatization.
As a result of the alarming increase in reported rapes, victims’ rights activists in Nigeria are calling for a crackdown on the country’s 2015 Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, which makes it a crime to harm another person in any way—including sexually or domestically—and offers victims legal recourse.
Several individuals violated and dumped a father’s four-year-old daughter at a trash site, according to an interview with a parent from Kontagora, Kontagora Local Government Area, Niger State.
Speaking anonymously, the father recounted his nightmare, which began in April 2025, when strangers broke into their compound while they slept and abducted their daughter.
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The father claims that multiple individuals sexually assaulted his daughter, severed her organs, and then discarded her body at a landfill.
Our hunt for her, assisted by our neighbors, began at the first sign that she had gone missing and continued throughout the night. After the 5 o’clock Muslim prayers, my neighbors saw my helpless infant lying on a garbage.
“Upon further inspection, we discovered that she had been raped to the extent that her organs were removed; blood stains were visible between her legs. She informed us that some strangers abducted her while she was sleeping, took her to an incomplete building, raped her, and then left her body on a landfill, he said.
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After the girl’s rapid arrival at Kontagora General Hospital, her care was referred to a facility in Sokoto State by the hospital’s administration.
After two weeks of treatment at Kontagora General Hospital, the father was finally able to release his daughter from the hospital after a difficult journey with her to Sokoto. Treatment is ongoing for her.
The frequency of gender-based violence (GBV) in Niger State has been voiced by Mary Isah, who is in charge of planning, research, and statistics for the state’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
The global spread of GBV necessitates immediate action. According to her, it “sends victims into depression,” divides families, disrupts domestic harmony, and creates chaos.
Isah claims that although men and women are both subject to GBV, the most susceptible groups are children and women.
There have been a lot more reports from females than males, with over 50% of the cases being female. She elaborated that men have a hard time reporting, stating that this is likely related to ego.
The filmmaker stressed the importance of victims coming forward to report GBV in order to get justice. You must not pass away in silence; that is what we want everyone to understand.
No longer can one proclaim, “I am the man.” “You remain silent, and the woman will handle you in a discreet manner; and then, out of the blue, the worst happens,” she warned. She urged all parties involved to stand up to the threat and seek redress for the victims.
Many rapes have occurred in the state, particularly in Minna, according to Mrs. Rachel Turakin, the director of social welfare services at the ministry.
So yet, we have very few convictions, despite the fact that we are dealing with multiple rape cases. She mentioned that there have been only five guilty instances since they began, which is quite minimal.
About eleven-hundred-four cases are still pending conviction in different courts, as reported by Turakin. “Verdicts will be handed down at some point, particularly in rape cases,” she continued.
Turaki confirmed the four-year-old’s story, saying, “According to the report, because of the heat, the family was sleeping outside, and some people forcefully picked her up and took her to an unknown place where they raped her, resulting in severe injuries to her organs.”
There is a statute in place to penalize perpetrators of GBV, and the state administration is devoted to protecting victims, according to Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed Shitu, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry.
Victims of rape and other forms of gender-based violence should speak out for assistance and justice. She noted that the State Government, following in the footsteps of the child’s parents, had made sure that the four-year-old received care and that she would be going to Sokoto for her second surgery.
The Permanent Secretary further by saying that the ministry is educating communities through its social area officers about the importance of speaking out against gender-based violence (GBV) so that those responsible are held accountable and the problem is significantly reduced.