Abused but ignored: Kaduna’s untold story of sexual violence against boys

• How fear, poor legal awareness, families, clerics frustrate justice for abused boys ν Women, child’s rights advocates, lawyers want justice for victims

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

For years, sexual violence against children in Kaduna has largely been discussed through the experiences of girls, while boys usually play behind-the-scenes roles in the same societal issue that affects their female counterparts.

In Kaduna, rights officials, lawyers, women’s rights advocates and child protection practitioners say cases involving the sexual abuse of boys are being underreported.

Another rights awareness session

At the same time, many more cases remain hidden because of stigma, fear, poor legal awareness and interventions by families, religious leaders and community figures.

For one mother (name, address withheld), the discovery began with a seemingly ordinary request.

She had asked her older daughter to bathe her younger brother when the girl noticed that faeces were leaking from the child’s anus.

She said: “I then told her to clean him up properly. I became worried. So at night, while the child was sleeping, I removed his trousers to check his anus because I once heard of a case of sexual assault against boys on the radio.”

Gov Uba Sani

The mother said she was shocked by what she saw and alerted the child’s father.

She said the boy initially denied being abused but later told his father that a well-known man in the neighbourhood had allegedly sexually assaulted him and threatened to kill him if he disclosed the abuse.

According to her, the boy said the man would pick him and other boys up in his car and take them to the premises of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company in the area. The family subsequently consulted a lawyer and was advised to take the boy to SARC for medical examination.

“We consulted a barrister in our neighbourhood who advised that the boy should be taken to SARC for medical examination, the outcome of which could be used as evidence if there is an abuse.”

The mother said the examination at Yusuf Dantsoho General Hospital indicated that the child had been abused over a prolonged period.

She said the matter was subsequently reported to the police and that the suspect was detained.

“Honestly, I need justice for my children. These children are ill and need medical care and social support. We don’t have resources to take care of them.”

Another mother (name, address withheld), whose identity is being withheld to protect her children, alleged that the same suspect had been giving her two male children soft drinks before sexually abusing them.

“He usually threatened the children that if they tell anyone about his act, he would slaughter them. We have been to the police, and there was a medical investigation that confirmed that the children are being abused.

“We understand that the suspect has been freed from police custody. We, however, are seeking justice and support for our children,” she said.

The Centre Manager of Salama Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), Tudun Wada, Kaduna, Barrister Sidikat Bello Adegboye, confirmed that the facility received one of the boys in May 2026.

“After medical examination, it was ascertained that there had been penetration of the boy,” Adegboye said. She added that three other boys from the same family were brought for examination in August.

“Subsequently, in August, three other boys from the same family were also brought forward for examination for sexual assault, but only one of them was confirmed to have been sexually assaulted.”

According to Adegboye, the Ministry of Women Affairs was handling the first case, which had already been mentioned at the Magistrate’s Court for cognisance. But, the man accused by the two mothers denied the allegations.

“My God! These people are telling lies against me. It is a great lie,” he said.

According to him, his contact with one of the boys was limited to helping at a worship centre and occasionally giving the boy small amounts of money.

“I am used to buying water for the mosque for washing before prayers whenever the centre runs out of water and if I’m around and have money.

“Sometimes, I ask the boy to go and bring water for the mosque. That is all I know. That is the only thing that connects me with the boy.

“Whenever the boy sees me, I sometimes give him N50 to buy ‘askam’. I have never given him a large amount of money.

“Sometimes, I’d give him my car key to clean it if he insisted on helping out. They just come and create these allegations,” he said.

The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Kaduna Branch, is also receiving complaints involving sexual violence against boys, including the one denied by an accused adult above, according to its chairperson, Barrister Olufunke Bamikole.

Bamikole recalled the same case of a boy allegedly abused over an extended period by a neighbour.

“There is a case before us now where I had to invite the mother of the boy and the survivor to the office. When they came, we interviewed them and asked questions to substantiate their claim.

“Both of them, especially the mother, narrated that the abuse had been going on for over one year and that the alleged perpetrator was their neighbour.”

According to the mother, Bamikole said, the alleged perpetrator would take the boy in his car and return him home under the guise of helping him.

“She said he would carry the boy in his car and bring him home as if he had found the boy on the road and was simply giving him a lift. The family would even thank him, not knowing that he was allegedly ruining the life of the boy.”

Bamikole said the boy was taken to a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) for examination and the matter was reported to the police.

She said FIDA became concerned after learning that the suspect had been released.

“That made me say, okay, there is still something we can do, because we cannot stay in a society where children’s lives are jeopardised. These are children whose future we do not know; we do not know what they will become tomorrow.”

She said information received by FIDA suggested that several boys could have been affected.

“Initially, we were hearing that it was only about six or seven boys the suspect was doing it to. But we later heard that there were about 40, including his own son.

“And the son, because he had allegedly been exposed to the behaviour, was also doing it to other small boys. We cannot fold our arms,” she said.

Bamikole also recalled the severity of the injuries allegedly observed in one of the children.

“When he was taken to the hospital, it was reported that worms were coming out of his anus, meaning that something was wrong inside that we could not even see,” she said.

But, the Kaduna State Police Command, however, disputed the suggestion that the suspect was simply released from police custody.

The Officer in Charge of the Gender Section, Dominic David Aku, said the suspect had been remanded in custody for several months before the Ministry of Justice issued legal advice on the case.

“Sometimes, when people see a suspect outside, they assume that the police released him. That is not necessarily the case.

“The person we remanded was taken into prison custody. He spent approximately three or four months there.”

Aku explained that once police investigations are concluded, the case diary is duplicated and forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for legal advice.

“That is the standard procedure for offences against the state.

“The Ministry of Justice reviews the facts and provides legal advice. If the ministry establishes that there is a case to answer, it can request the original case diary and take over the prosecution because the police do not prosecute such cases at that stage.”

According to him, the legal advice received in this particular case concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the suspect.

“So the Ministry of Justice advises whether the suspect has a case to answer or should be discharged. In this case, the advice we received from the Ministry stated that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him and that he should be discharged.

“It was not the police who released him,” he said.

To the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Kaduna State Office, some of the complaints it received involve sexual violence and other violations against children including boys.

Dr Tengu Gwar, the commission’s coordinator in the state, said the problem was particularly difficult to measure because many victims and their families never report what happened.

“In the city centre, we receive some reports, but you can imagine what is happening in places where literacy levels are very low, particularly legal literacy. People do not know their rights or the available channels for seeking redress.

“As a result, some of these issues are buried. They are underreported. The culture of silence is very strong, particularly where religion and culture play a significant role,” he stated.

To Gwar, one of the disturbing patterns noticed by the commission was that alleged perpetrators are frequently people known to the victims and their families.

“At the commission here, we receive some of these complaints from members of the public, particularly issues around violence against children and several other matters relating to child rights violations.

“We are also worried about the upsurge we are seeing. One of the things we have noticed is that some of the perpetrators are people who are well known within the family or neighbourhood circle – individuals known to the family, including people who are family members of the victims,” he stressed.

He recalled a recent case involving two boys from the same family.

“Another case we heard of recently involved siblings, children of the same father but different mothers. I think the eldest was about 15 years old, while the victim was about nine. They were from the same family, and this happened between them,” he said.

Gwar said the development was particularly troubling because protecting children from abuse is central to the commission’s mandate.

“We are very bothered about this trend that we are seeing repeatedly. It means something, somewhere, is wrong, and for us, child rights protection is fundamental to our mandate.

“It is something we have been working on over the years to try to address, including within the Commission itself.”

He said the NHRC sometimes mediates or facilitates reconciliation in appropriate matters, while other cases are referred to the police for investigation and prosecution.

The greatest obstacle, he said, is often what happens after a family discovers that one of its own members or someone close to it is allegedly involved.

“As I said, many of these incidents happen within the family circle. People tend to downplay them because their family members are involved. Because of stigma and discrimination, they may decide not to report the matter at all.

“Even when matters are reported, somewhere along the line, family members, religious leaders or community leaders sometimes intervene to prevent the victim from getting justice.”

He said some families are told to keep the matter within the family.

“They may say, ‘This is our own; we don’t want this matter to escalate,’ or argue that if the child grows up, he or she may have difficulty getting married,” he said.

Gwar recalled a case from Zaria in which a mother, who wanted to pursue justice after her child was sexually violated, faced stigma and ultimately lost the support of her husband.

“All of a sudden, the mother faced a lot of stigma and discrimination. Even the husband, who was supposed to support her in seeking justice, did not support her. They eventually sent the mother away because she wanted to pursue the matter.

“She left, and unfortunately, the matter got worse because she wanted to take action.”

When contacted, a senior state counsel, gender-based violence specialist and child protection specialist at the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice, Sarah Gajere Peter, said cases involving the molestation, abuse and sexual violence of boys are being reported.

She said the Department of Citizens’ Rights in the Ministry of Justice handles human rights complaints, including cases involving children.

“The department is open to the public. Anyone can bring a complaint, whether it has to do with tenancy, land, rent, communal clashes, religious issues, adoption, child marriage or any other matter.

“Even cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence can be reported through the Ministry of Justice.”

Depending on the circumstances, she said, cases may be referred to the police, Legal Aid Council, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) or the Multi-Door Courthouse.

“Where necessary, the police conduct the investigation and forward the case to us for legal advice before a charge is filed in court,” she explained.

Peter confirmed that violence against boys was among the cases being brought before the ministry.

“Cases involving violence against boys are indeed being reported to the ministry.

“As a stakeholder in this area, people sometimes call me directly to report such cases, and I refer them to the appropriate authorities or take whatever action is within my mandate as a prosecutor.

“We do our best to ensure that justice is served, perpetrators are brought to book and that anyone found wanting faces the appropriate legal process.”

Peter said she is currently prosecuting cases involving violations against young boys and had concluded one such case in 2026.

She recalled a case involving a two-year-old boy who was sexually assaulted through the anus by an adult.

“The perpetrator was about 30 years old. The man also taught a 12-year-old boy to do the same thing.

“The 12-year-old boy was the one who took the younger child to an unfinished building. The 30-year-old man forced the 12-year-old to sexually assault the child, after which the adult also assaulted the child.”

Peter said the 12-year-old was subsequently treated as a victim rather than a perpetrator because investigations indicated that he had himself been sexually abused.

“When they returned the child, he was almost unconscious. That was how they were able to arrest both the 12-year-old boy and the 30-year-old man.

“However, we had to treat the 12-year-old as a victim because, from the investigation, he did not have the requisite intent.

“He himself had been sexually violated, and the perpetrator had apparently subjected him to similar abuse before making him participate in the assault of the younger child.”

She said the 12-year-old subsequently testified as a witness, alongside the younger child’s parents.

“At a point, our evidence was not sufficiently strong, so we had to review the case. Eventually, the defendant was convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. There was also an order for compensation of N500,000 to the family of the survivor,” she said.

Another case involving three boys, all about six years old, is presently before the court, Peter said.

She said she prepared the boys to testify but was unable to produce them in court on the scheduled day because their parents could not be reached.

“I had to inform the court about the situation, and unfortunately, we had to adjourn the matter.

“After the case was over, I called again. That was when the parents switched on their phones and told me that the community had asked them to forgive and forget the matter and discontinue the case. That can frustrate the prosecution,” she said.

The experience illustrated one of the central problems identified by rights practitioners; a case can reach the formal justice system and still be derailed by pressure outside the courtroom.

Meanwhile, laws exist, but enforcement remains crucial

Kaduna State has several legal instruments dealing with violence against children and sexual offences.

These include the Kaduna State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2018, which covers sexual and other forms of violence and provides for protection and remedies for victims.

The state also has the Child Welfare and Protection Law 2018, which provides for the welfare and protection of children and establishes a framework for child justice and the care and supervision of children.

Another important instrument is the Kaduna State Penal Code Law 2017, as amended by the Penal Code (Amendment) Law 2020.

The 2020 amendment substituted Section 258 and expressly addressed sexual intercourse with a male child below 14 years. The law provides severe penalties upon conviction and also provides for the listing of convicted child-sex offenders in the Sex Offenders Register.

The amendment is particularly significant in cases involving boys because it expressly recognises sexual intercourse with a male child below 14 as an offence under Section 258(2).

The legal framework therefore exists. But the accounts from the NHRC, Ministry of Justice, FIDA, SARC and the police point to a different challenge – institutional gaps, getting victims to disclose abuse, protecting them and their families from pressure, gathering admissible evidence and sustaining cases through the justice process.

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