Kogi State Ministry of Information and Communications is to partner with Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders in its campaign against rape in the state.
The ministry is set to create awareness to keep the public well informed and at alert against perpetrators of the heinous crime.
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Evang Kingsley Fanwo represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Peter Stephen said the state owned media will be used to carry the campaign to the grassroots.
He said the ministry will do its best possible in the campaign against rape; seeing that the ugly trend is emerging at an alarming dimension in the larger society.
While stating that state government has zero tolerance for rape, the Permanent Secretary said other line ministries in the state will be involved in the joint campaign to ensure rapists are not harboured within.
Earlier, Barr. Nuhu Mohammed, the State Coordinator for National Human Rights Commission who led the Committee of NGOs in the state to the ministry said the group was on a peaceful protest against rape, a menace already eating too deep into the society.
He solicited the assistance of the state government for a successful campaign to end sexual abuse; saying there is no excuse for forcible violation.
The Director for Challenged Parenthood Initiative, Mrs. Unice Agbogun urged the state government to back up the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Bill (VAPP Bill) already at a public hearing stage at the state House of Assembly for express passage.
She explained that the bill, when in force, will provide for commensurate punishment for rapists and serve as deterrent to others who may want to nurture going against the law of the land.
Modupe Adegboro.
