No fewer than seventeen (17) cases of child abuse were recorded in Oyo state in the past four months.

The cases were recorded between March and June 2020, according to the state government.

The state government made these declarations on Thursday.

The government said the age of the victims fall between one to seventeen years.

Chairman, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion’s Rapid Response Team on Sexual, Gender-Based Violence and Child Abuse, Mr. Marcus Williams, while presenting his report explained that part of the mandate of the team was to prevent and protect children from violence and other ill treatments.

Williams noted that the response team has increased the number of children who enjoy democratic dividends.

He added that access to free health care and education of children have
increased in the state.

Williams while speaking further enumerated some of the challenges militating against the team to include incomplete information on violence survivors and inaccurate reports which hindered swift responses in most cases.

He added that the unavailability of sufficient responders, cultural values, and family pressure of the survivors limited the extent of prosecution of offenders.

Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Alhaja Faosat Sanni in her remarks, appreciated the efforts of the team for their swift responses stressing that most of the cases reported happened during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Sanni who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Christiana Abioye, said security agencies and non-governmental organisations have been collaborating with the Ministry to see that cases of rape and gender-based violence were dealt with accordingly.

She admonished philanthropists who have a passion to care and advocate for the survivors and the less privileged to follow due process of registration as the Oyo State government would not spare anyone jeopardizing its efforts.