A Connected Development News Today

Rivers state, Nigeria – On a morning last February, eight-year-old Aminatu Zana – whose real name has been concealed – was raped in her hometown of Kano, Nigeria’s second largest city. The alleged perpetrator was no stranger: a neighbour, who used his familiarity and a bar of chocolate to lure the child into his room, then threatened her if she spoke of his crime. But bloody traces of his assault on Aminatu’s garments gave him away. Her widowed and impoverished mother, Salima, dreaded...