Edo State sees over 70 child defilement cases, fathers are main offenders

The Edo State Government said on Thursday that from January to July 2026, more than 70 cases of child defilement were reported. More than half of these cases were committed by the fathers of the children involved.

Eugenia Abdallah, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, shared this information during a press conference held by the Ministry of Information and Strategy.

The commissioner was joined by Kassim Afegbua, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, and Innocent Bello, the Managing Director of Edo State Geographic Information Service. She revealed that the children who were defiled by their fathers are between the ages of two and ten years old.

She said, "Mostly, 50 per cent are abused by their own fathers, with the victims ranging from two to ten years. For instance, there is a little girl currently in our custody who was impregnated by her father. She is just 14 years old and is eight months pregnant as we speak. The case was reported to us by a neighbour."

“When we asked her about her father, she told us that she had lost her father and pleaded with us not to have him arrested. Meanwhile, she is the only person who can tell us where her father is."

The commissioner also talked about the state government's dedication to protecting vulnerable citizens. She added that survivors should not only be heard but also supported.

She stated, "The victims are not merely trained but provided opportunities for economic advancement; and social-protection programmes increasingly produce measurable outcomes."