The Federal Government of Nigeria has decried the high plurality of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) cases in the country.
It revealed that Nigeria accounts for 115 million cases of the 130 million global cases of the practice.
While characterizing the act as an unnecessary evil and a crime against the girl child and the entire humanity, the government urged all stakeholders to unite to ensure that the practice is stopped.
It further conceded that the Southsouth geopolitical zone has the highest prevalence of FGM practice at 77 percent.
The Southeast and Southwest followed with a prevalence of 68 percent and 65 percent respectively.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, spoke during the official launch of the ‘Movement For Good to End Female Genital Mutilation,’ organized by the UNFPA-UNICEF, in collaboration with the Federal Government and other partners.
She said: “There is no way that female genital mutilation can ever be properly done. It is condemnable. It is a crime against humanity and I pray that all gathered here should leave this hall as ambassadors toward zero tolerance of FGM.
“Statistics have shown that Nigeria has the highest number of cases of FGM in the world, accounting for about one hundred and fifteen million out of one hundred and thirty million circumcised women worldwide. The northern part of Nigeria is not free of this practice but is very limited.”
