By: Suleiman Adamu, Sokoto
AS the drive to fight the trend of Gender Based Violence (GBV) strengthens , Sultan of Sokoto and President General , Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs , Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar on Monday assured of his readiness to support and participate in the forthcoming African Traditional Leaders’ Conference on women’s rights and Gender Based Violence (GBV), scheduled for February 2026 in Lagos.
Abubakar gave the provisional confirmation when he received invitation for the event delivered to him in his palace in Sokoto by the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC).
The revered monarch commended dRPC’s work, stating that its objectives aligned with the Sultanate’s long-standing advocacy for women’s rights and education rooted in Islamic scholarship.
He praised the women-majority delegation for their leadership and urged consistent follow-up on recommendations from national forums.
The religious leader also stressed the need for stakeholders to focus more on family institution and children as pillar of societal values, morality and discipline in tackling the trend.
Earlier, Mr. Oumar Ndiaye, Program Officer of the Ford Foundation, described the conference as a landmark opportunity for traditional leaders across Africa to unite in combating GBV and advancing women’s rights.
However, Mr. Ndiaye applauded the Sultan’s commitment and reaffirmed the Ford Foundation’s support for dRPC’s efforts, stressing that “ending GBV requires collective action across society.” as he spoke with reporters on the sidelines.
Also, Professor Taufiq Abubakar, who led the dRPC delegation, highlighted the organisation’s Muslim Opinion Leaders (MOLs) for the Prevention of GBV in Northern Nigeria project, supported by the Ford Foundation.
Professor Abubakar, a Director at the Centre for Islamic Civilisation and Interfaith Dialogue, Bayero University Kano (BUK), noted that the initiative partners with Islamic scholars to promote women’s protection from an Islamic perspective and has produced extensive publications developed with Al-Azhar University and the Centre for Islamic Civilisation and Interfaith Dialogue being translated into Arabic and Hausa.
Accordingly, Professor Abubakar further outlined dRPC’s ongoing collaborations with muslim scholars to address GBV and the “double stigmatisation” of survivors, a growing social challenge in Northern Nigeria.
Also on the sidelines, a woman opinion leader and Legal Adviser FOMWAN Kano chapter, Barrister Aisha Ali Tijjani said the reformation of judicial justice system was key aspect being driven to address litigations on matters related to personal status of families and women on domestic violence and maltreatment issues in tackling GBV.
” This is aimed at also tackling issues of women not accessing justice and other cumbersome aspects including hardships”, She stated while disclosing that so far, 50 GBV issues from the islamic perspective concerning women were resolved at intervals in the state.
” This is a significant progress and we thank Kano state government for the space to achieve the progress”, She stated.
Explaining further, Ahmed Umar Ahmed, Programme Officer at dRPC and person in charge of Muslim Opinion Leaders for GBV prevention in Northern Nigeria said a manual on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) from the Islamic perspectives on double stigmatization had been developed with the support of God Foundation.
Umar who is also the Coordinator, Muslim Opinion Leaders for GBV prevention in Northern Nigeria said the document has been translated into Hausa.
According to him the Muslim Opinion Leaders for the Prevention of GBV in Northern Nigeria is designed to address issues of misconceptions and misinterpretations of religious roles in relation to gender-based violence while disclosing that dRPC was also into supporting mosques in developing a manual on Islamic perspectives on GBV.
” With the support of Ford Foundation, dRPC selected and sponsored some Muslim scholars and opinion leaders from Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Bauchi, and Niger for study tours to Egypt”, he disclosed to reporters in Sokoto.
In the same direction , he disclosed that the centre has plans to integrate victims of Boko Haram abductions in Niger State into their communities to address the challenges they face.
” Just recently we discovered some women and girls released by Boko Haram or escaped are facing numerous challenges”
Meanwhile, the visit was climaxed with a closing prayer after the exchange of souvenirs and group photograph.
