The Kogi government has pledged to stop violence against children through a multi-sectoral approach.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, gave the pledge while receiving members of the Rehoboth Community Advancement Initiative, an NGO, who paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday in Lokoja.

The commissioner said that the state government would no longer condone violence against children, as they were a defenseless group which the government must protect.

Fanwo said that the government would adopt various methods to curb cases of violence against children, even in rural communities.

“We have to come up with a multi-sectoral response to end violence against children, because they are a vulnerable group and yet, the most cherished assets of the state.

“All ministries and non-governmental agencies must be involved in the campaign and sensitization, which we will take to the grassroots.

“Violence against children is a social ill that should attract the attention of all stakeholders in society.

”It is the highest level of man’s inhumanity to man because children constitute the defenseless demography of the society. It is, therefore, not acceptable,” he said.

Fanwo said that the Gov. Yahaya Bello-led administration would work out modalities to provide free education to the indigent children as a permanent bailout from their condition.

He also said that the state would create report centers, where cases of violence against children could easily be recorded, adding that such a database would be useful in attracting assistance from development agencies.
The commissioner said that the information sector in the state would explore all possible avenues to collaborate with agencies that would help the government in the fight against the heinous crime.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Peter Stephen, commended the NGO for its commitment to ending violence against children.

He said that the ministry would deploy all its technicalities to support programs on the safety of the people.
Earlier, the Executive Director of the NGO, Mr. Nathaniel Abaniwo, said that Nigeria ranked very high on issues of physical and mental violence against children.

He called for collaboration with the government to reduce the unfortunate trend in society.