The Kogi State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has said that there is need for adequate protection of child rights in the state through formulation of child friendly state policies.
Adebayo Emmanuel Olaniyon, a senior apostle and chairman, CAN, Kogi State, said all adults in the state should be in the vanguard of child protection in order to stem rising cases of child abuse, and pervasive child rights violations in communities across the state.
Olaniyon lamented the high incidence of child molestation under the guise of child adoption and fostering, when he received members of the state child rights advocacy team in his office, in Lokoja.
“There is growing number of cases of child abuse in our homes that is unnoticed as I have made personal intervention to save innocent children from abuse, torture and maltreatment in many instances. I have a child who stays with me because of the pathetic conditions the child had been subjected to, and I got to know about the situation through my wife, who is the state director of child development of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and ever since, the unfortunate child has been in my custodian until the parents take over full responsibility,” Olaniyon said.
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The CAN chairman called on the people of the state to take interest in child rights advocacy and protection by forming enduring partnership with rights groups like the International Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA), CSOs and others to get legal representation for children in conflict with the law, in the interest of protecting humanity.
“The legal instrument with which to execute the war against child rights violations has already been established in the state with the domestication of the child rights law,” Olaniyon said.
He urged the people to take advantage of the law to prosecute the offenders even before the full implementation of the child rights law, adding that with the CRL legal framework, the child rights advocates in the state and other citizens can file lawsuits against child rights violators and get justice for the abused child at little or no cost of litigation to the appellants.
He added that CAN will plead with the state authorities to implement the child rights law being pursued for the state, saying it is in the interest of the state to protect the rights of the child in any circumstance, as CAN will not rest on its oars to get it fully implemented, as a formidable voice in the struggle for rights protection and the entrenchment of justice for all.
Earlier, Titus Alonge, leader of the state CRL advocacy cluster, appreciated the contributions of CAN and other religious bodies in the state and for adding voice to the struggle for the formation of the state child rights law implementation committee to drive home its policy by year 2023.
He commended the CAN leadership in the state for its supportive role in the collective efforts to fully implement the CRL document in Kogi State.
