Stakeholders in the South-south region of Nigeria have stated that the country’s Child Rights Law is yet to yield significant results, urging relevant authorities to collaborate more effectively to safeguard the future generations.
The stakeholders in Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers States reacted to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) survey on the extent of the implementation of the Child Rights Act and Labour laws.
In Cross River, James Ibor, the principal counsel of Basic Rights Council Initiative, described the implementation of the Child Rights Law as poor and slow. He explained that the state domesticated the Act in 2009 and amended it in 2023 into the Cross River Child Rights Law 2023, which explicitly criminalised branding children as witches and stipulated punishment for the offender.
However, Mr Ibor said that with the increased awareness of the law provisions, crime reporting has increased, and the steps taken by the police have also improved, but this has caused a lot of congestion in the courts, especially in Calabar.
He called for more family courts, which handle such cases, to expedite hearings, as the existing ones were too few in the state
In Akwa Ibom, Eyibio Okon, a legal practitioner in Uyo, attributed the violation of the Child Rights Act to the number of divorces instituted by parents. He said children are more often neglected when parents are living apart or separated.
He called for monitoring the state Child Rights Law implementation, adding that with the law, a lot had been done to protect the children, although there was not much publicity to showcase them.
Also speaking, Sam Itauma, the chief executive officer, Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) in Eket alleged that the Act implementation was being marred by the police, lack of seriousness and court procedures. He said that sympathies of families and friends, which aimed at perverting justice, also marred the implementation of the Act, disclosing that some prosecutions already recorded were from the efforts of non-governmental organisations, especially CRARN.
In Rivers, Nwamaka Ikediashi, the NAPTIP Commander in the state, said besides the Child Rights Law, the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Enforcement and Administration Act 2015 has provisions to tackle child abuse, child labour, and sexual exploitation.
According to her, this law, enacted by the National Assembly, applies to all 36 states in Nigeria. Ms Ikediashi said individuals who violated children’s rights had been prosecuted, and the Federal High Court had delivered judgments on several cases. Also, the government’s emphasis on existing laws underscores its dedication to safeguarding children from abuse and exploitation,” she said.