The Plateau State Government has disclosed a startling data showing that about 50 children of all sexes have been raped in the state in the past four months alone, saying there has been a surge in the crime.

“Our records show 50 recent cases of rape in the state. This is just within the last four months or so,” Mrs. Rufina Gurumyen, State Commissioner for Women Affairs, told newsmen in Jos, ahead of the launch of the state initiative to End Violence Against the Children (EndVAC), to come up this week.

According to her, “The last two cases are just days away; one in Jos involving a suspect who raped a child of two years, and another in Langtan. In Langtan, the suspect raped a disabled child. The first one was found to have raped a child sometimes ago, but the family decided to conceal it. So this particular one, a neighbour reported to the ministry for us to track him and the family to start the case.”

EndVAC is a national child protection campaign funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Plateau keyed into the campaign following President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive, last year, for states to initiative their own respective campaigns. (Daily Trust)

•Photo shows rape scene.