The Kwara State Government on Saturday Commissioned the Ajike Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Ilorin.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the centre was commissioned by the First Lady of Kwara, Mrs Olufolake AbdulRazaq.
The Press Secretary to the wife of the governor, Olayinka Adeniyi said in a statement in Ilorin that the centre was inaugurated on Friday at the premises of the Kwara General Hospital, Ilorin.
According to Adeniyi, Mrs. AbdulRazaq noted during the facility’s inauguration that the rise in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) incidents during the COVID-19 outbreak’s lockdown informed the declaration of a state of emergency on SGBV, necessitating the adoption of protective laws across the country.
Such facilities, she said, were essential for offering SGBV survivors assistance and care.
She pledged to make sure that some specified facilities at the Civil Service Clinic and the Children Specialist Hospital, both in Ilorin, would be set up for operations in the New Year and reproduced throughout the state’s 16 local government areas.
“The first lady said such is evident in the Governor’s assent to the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act and the Gender Inclusion Bill, and also reflected in the appointment of women and youths as state officials,” the statement said.
