Wife of the Kaduna State Governor, Hajia Ummi El-Rufai, has taken her campaign against rape to Turunku, the ancestral home of legendary Queen Amina in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

Hajia Ummi who seized the occasion to address children and educate them on the tricks to identify a potential rapist and how to raise alarm should any come to them, pleaded with traditional, religious, and other community leaders, to stop giving protection to rapists at the detriment of the raped victims.

She exclaimed that cases of rape, especially of minors have an increasingly alarming rate in Kaduna state, with the perpetrators allegedly enjoying the protection of community leaders. She said:

“We are here in continuation of our campaign against rape, to meet you the community leaders, traditional, religious leaders, social mobilizers, youth and community influencers, to help us in this fight.

“We are here to put a structure in place through which report can be made of rape cases. We also want you to help in fighting the menace within the community by being the police of your communities.

 “We are not encouraging you to beat up a suspected rapist, but help arrest such persons and reach out to the authorities.”

 “We also want you to help us stop the victimization of the victims of rape. It is the perpetrators of the crime that deserve to be shamed not protected.

 “We have often heard of instances where community leaders themselves are the ones protecting the rapists.

“We are here to tell you to stop that, because if we continue to pardon the rapists just because they are our neighbours, families or even because we want to protect the dignity of the victim, so that the victim would get somebody to marry them in future, then the rapists will not stop, they will always look for the next victims after being pardoned.”

Similarly, a member of her entourage and Team Lead, Kaduna State Active Squad Against Gender-Based Violence, Professor Hauwau Evelyn Yusuf, stressed that any leader who protects rapists under whatever guise is no different from the rapists themselves.

 While speaking on behalf of the community leaders, the Village Head of Turunku Sabuwa, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman expressed gratitude to the governor’s wife for choosing his community as the first point of the campaign.