A total of 25 perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) have been sentenced to death as part of crackdown on the menace across Kaduna State.
Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, Dr Rabi Ibrahim disclosed this on Thursday while receiving a delegation of Muslim Opinion Leaders who were working on prevention of GBV in Northern Nigeria.
The delegation, led by Professor Taufiq Hussain, visited the commissioner under a project supported by the Ford Foundation through the Development Research and Project Centre (dRPC).
Dr Rabi also revealed that the government has concluded plans to empower 15,000 women with N5 billion, under the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Fund – a key pillar of the state’s GBV prevention strategy.
She explained that the beneficiaries, drawn from the 23 local government areas, were carefully profiled under 750 women’s cooperatives.
This initiative, she noted, builds on earlier efforts that saw 5,000 women and girls benefit from digital and entrepreneurial training through the Google Africa Data Science, AI, and craft skills programme.
According to her, “Since the launch of the WEE Policy in December 2024 by Governor Uba Sani, we have prioritised economic empowerment as a tool for GBV prevention. I’m happy to inform you that the Governor has fulfilled his N5bn pledge, and the fund is now captured in the 2025 budget.”
She added that the Ministry was also building a state-wide GBV database to enhance survivor tracking, intervention, and rehabilitation, while a multi-sectoral technical working group is already engaging stakeholders on legal, education, empowerment, and social support interventions.
“We are strengthening linkages between women’s economic empowerment and GBV prevention — by enrolling women back in school, creating access to healthcare, social protection, and leadership opportunities,” Dr Rabi said.
Speaking earlier, Professor Hussain said the delegation’s visit was to assess progress on the WEE Policy and explore avenues for collaboration with the Ministry on GBV prevention and monitoring.
He commended the State Government’s integrated approach.
For his part, Director-General of the Kaduna State Bureau of Interfaith, Barrister Tahir Umar Tahir urged the commissioner to deploy her expertise in deepening the fight against GBV, which he described as “a scourge threatening the moral fabric of society.”
