NIGERIA: Child rape in Kano on the increase

In Kano, men rape underage girls in hope of HIV cure
By Our correspondent
Published: Saturday, 5 Jan 2008
A common social problem in South Africa, the rape of underaged girls by the HIV-positive men seeking a cure, may have spread to Nigeria.IRIN News Agency and Agence France Presse reported on Thursday that the police and government officials in Kano had reported an upsurge in the incidents of child rape. They said that as a result of the trend, which had become a major challenge to South Africa, young girls had become unsafe in Kano.
An Islamic scholar in Kano, Aminuddeen Abubakar, told AFP that men who believed that the HIV/AIDS would be cured by raping young girls caused the upsurge. “Some (men) have this superstitious belief that they can cure themselves of (sexually transmitted diseases) particularly HIV/AIDS (through rape). Others believe that they can become rich if they commit this wanton act of irresponsibility,” he said.
However, health experts have pointed out that this odious practice is borne out of ignorance and that HIV/AIDS remains medically incurable.

The scholar stated that “the most vulnerable victims of this inhuman act are girls that hawk articles on the streets and alleys of this city. These girls are lured by rapists who pretend that they want to buy their wares.” Abubakar lamented that the strict penalties in the Sharia Law introduced in 2001 by the state government had done little to solve the problem.
]“I know of a particular case in which the victim was raped to death,” he told AFP.
The suspects were usually males between the ages of 45 and 70 while their victims were mostly girls of between three and 11 years.

Several parents told IRIN that they now ensured that their daughters were always accompanied when they go out. “The situation has become so bad that you have to monitor every movement of your daughter. You need to warn her not to get close to a strange face and to run home if she is beckoned at,” a housewife, Hadiza Kabir, said.

Confirming the alarming situation, the state’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, Suleiman Abba, told IRIN on Thursday that in one incident, a 70-year-old man raped a three year old girl. He said, “Child rape is becoming rampant in Kano and we are worried that if nothing is done to stop the problem, it will go out of hand.” Abba, who said the police had recorded 54 cases of child rape and made 60 related arrests in the last six months, added that “in some cases, the victims are gang-raped.” The number of cases is two-thirds higher than the number recorded in the first six months of 2007, he said.
KanoÂ’s Sharia Law prescribes the death penalty for rape, but Aminuddeen Abubakar, an Islamic scholar in Kano, said the penalties had done little to solve the problem.

Speaking further, Abba said, “We have cases of young men raping minors but the number became less important by comparison to the rape cases involving older men.” He added that the number of reported cases was only a tip of the iceberg. “Many are never reported because parents will want to save the honour of their daughters and protect their families from embarrassment,” he said. Abba said the police began to notice an increase in the child rape in 2004, adding that it became pronounced in 2005 and then reached an alarming rate in 2007.However, the police said there were major hurdles in the prosecution of the suspects. Even where there was enough evidence for a conviction, Abba said social stigma prevented many parents from pressing charges. “We can’t prosecute without witnesses. (So) the case is dead and you have to let the suspect free,” he said

Kano: How rapists besieged girlsÂ’ school
Written by Hassan A Karofi, Kano
Saturday, 15 March 2008

An unidentified gang of rapists has allegedly attacked a girlsÂ’ secondary school in Kano and raped some of the students, Weekly Trust gathered.

Investigations by our reporter revealed that at least four girls were raped after an attack in the late hours of Friday, March 7.

The incident which took place at the Dala GirlÂ’s Secondary School located in the ancient city of Kano, has continued to generate reactions from the public.

Sources revealed that the quick response from security personnel attached to the school helped to rescue other students from the gang.

Speaking to our reporter, one of the parents of the raped girls, (name withheld), said the rapists gained access into the school through the eastern fence of the compound and got access to the hostel before pouncing on them.

She said after the incident, the affected students were taken to the hospital for treatment and have retuned back to the school.

However, other parents of the affected girls have alleged that the school authorities threatened to expel the assaulted students if their parents disclosed the incident to the public.

"We feel there is need for us to draw the attention of the media to this dastardly act that is becoming a daily occurrence in many parts of the state especially after the principal, Hajiya Laura Ado Diso, threatened to expel any student whose parents exposes the attack," a parent alleged.

The parent said because most of the students who were raped come from the families of the less-privileged, their parents would not have the guts to air their grievances.

"What if they contract HIV or are impregnated by the rapists? This is something government must address in the interest of the students, their parents and our future," she said.

When Weekly Trust called at the state Ministry of Education for confirmation, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Tajuddeen Gambo, confirmed the attack but denied knowledge of any rape case.

"There was an attempt to rape the girls by some gang of rapists who went into the school on Friday night but none of the girls were raped," he said.

Gambo disclosed that the state government has taken adequate measures to prevent a reccurrence by planning to provide high fences in all the girlsÂ’ boarding schools in the metropolis.

He said girlÂ’s schools in the metropolis like Government GirlÂ’s College, Shekara; Women Teachers College, Goron Dutse, Government GirlÂ’s College, Goron Dutse will all be fenced to forestall further occurrence of the incident.

The permanent secretary added that government is determined to protect the integrity of all students living on campus and will do everything possible to ensure their safety.

Already, Weekly Trust investigations revealed that a team of policemen, the Hisbah and vigilante groups have been stationed to conduct night patrols in all the four girls boarding schools in the metropolis.

When our reporter called on the stateÂ’s police commissioner, Mr M.A Yesufu, he said the incident has not been officially reported to his command.

Cases of rape are on the increase in recent months in Kano, leading to the stateÂ’s police command, the stateÂ’s ministry of justice and the council of Ulama expressing concern over the situation.

This is the first time organised gang-rape is being reported in the city since the introduction of the ShariÂ’a legal system in 2003, by Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.