Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has approved the establishment of mobile court to handle cases of rape and other forms of violence against women across the state.

He gave the approval during interactive session with women groups on Friday in Lafia.

He said that issues concerning women and youths remained topmost in his agenda.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari “for taking appropriate measures to ensure peace reigns in the North Central and the country at large.”

He urged women and youths to take advantage of the windows of opportunities coming into the state as investors set up businesses to improve their status.

The state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Halima Jabiru, who thanked the governor for approving the establishment of the mobile court, expressed concern over the increasing rate of rape in the state and many parts of the country.

Jabiru said the court would help in bringing perpetrators to book.

She explained that the Ministry of Justice would help to produce a draft bill to be presented to the state House of Assembly.

The commissioner decried increased violation of women and girl’s rights and urged the judiciary to ensure that perpetrators of such heinous crimes, face quick and stringent penalties to serve as a deterrent to others.

She also called for the establishment of a scheme to address the issue of girl child education in the state, noting that with added support to women through the Ministry of Women Affairs, there would be improvement through multiplier effects on families and the entire society.

Mrs Aisha Isa Idoma, the Chairperson of the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) in the state, commended the governor for completing projects initiated by his predecessors.

Idoma, who described the governor as a man of his words, commended him for carrying women along in his administration, especially with the appointment of Jabiru as Commissioner for Women Affairs.

She, however, said that the NCWS in the state, the umbrella body for all women organisations, is handicapped because it has no office to operate.

APC Woman Leader in the state, Mrs Elsie Monday, also thanked the governor for carrying women along in all political activities.

NAN