By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

Kwara State government has lamented increasing cases of child and wife neglect in the state as a result of the economic downturn in the country among other factors.

Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Afolashade Oluwakemi who said this while speaking about the activities of her ministry at the quarterly press briefing organised by the state government on Tuesday however said that the ministry has intervened and resolved 15 of such neglected cases.

The Commissioner also said that the state government has taken over a case of a primary school teacher who defiled his seven-year-old pupil.

The commissioner said that the case could have been thwarted by the police but for her timely intervention adding that the case has been referred to the 21-member committee set up by the governor for such and related cases for action.
According to her, the minor (names withheld,) was last week sexually molested by her class teacher under unspecified pretext.

She alleged that men of the state police command had initially compromised the case, frustrating the parents of the victim before her office got wind of the issue.
She said: “before we knew of the case of a seven-year-old primary school pupil last week, the policemen where it was reported manipulated the case, they told the parents that the case had been taken to court and that the court had adjourned.

“The parents did not initially come to our ministry to complain, it was when it dawned on them that they have been played by the police that they were advised. It was then that we waded into the matter and we succeeded in referring the case to the 21-member committee comprising of religious leaders and traditional rulers among others for pursuit,” she stated.

Also reeling out the achievements of his ministry in the last five months, the Commissioner for Energy, AbdulAzeez Kola AbdulGaniyu said the state government has energised 12 communities as well as connected several villages to the national grid.

He also disclosed that the government, through his ministry, in the last five months distributed many 33-KVA and 11 KVA transformers to some communities in and outside the state capital.

The commissioner for Youth Development, Shehu Ndanusa Usman for his part said the state government has continued to subsidies meal in public primary schools as well as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC.)

Also Attorney -General and Kwara state commissioner for Justice, Barrister Ibrahim Sulyman Tuesday revealed that the state government is currently prosecuting 200 criminal cases perpetrated between May 2024 till date.

Of this figure, he said the state ministry of justice through its Department of Public Prosecution ,has so far secured 57 convictions.
He also said that many of the ongoing cases are serious cases including “homicide, kidnapping, robbery, rape amongst”, others.

Represented by the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Musa Idris, the commissioner said the ministry had equaly issued 262 Legal Advise on various cases.

He also hinted that the ministry’s department of revenue services has received 35 tax defaulters cases from the Kwara state internal revenue services, out of which he said 12 have been concluded while 23 were pending.

Similarly,Commissioner for water resources, Usman Lade, announced plans by the state government to embark on irrigation project to ensure all year round agriculture in the state in partnership with African Development Bank.

He also said two irrigation sites; the Omu- Aran irrigation site and Dukulade irrigation site, have been considered for the project because they meet the requirement to have at least 500 hectres of land.

On the efforts to end open defecation, Lade disclosed that the state government under it RUWASA project have constructed 10 smart toilets each in three local governments.