Abia to complete review of Child’s Right Law this month
By Godfrey Ofurum, in Aba
…as rights advocates decry increase in baby factories
The government of Abia State is in the process of reviewing the state’s Child’s Right Law of 2006 in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including the state House of Assembly.
Innocent Akomas, state coordinator for Child Protection Network and senior special assistant to Abia State governor on child and social welfare, gave the information in Aba, Abia State, at the commemoration of 2022 International Day of the Girl Child organised by the Youth and Students Advocates for Development (YSAD), in conjunction with Vivacious Development Initiative (VIDI), Women Alive for Growth (WAG), Onyedinma Foundation and the National Orientation Agency (NOA).Akomas explained that a committee has been set up, headed by him, to review the law, saying it had become necessary to review the law, which has been in existence for about 20 years, to include incidences that are cropping up that were not in existence when the law was made, such as child pornography and other internet-related activities that infringe on the rights of children.
“We are also having escalation of child abuse, escalating dimension in trafficking of children, sales of children, rape and even the media itself is infringing on the rights of children by the things we present in the media these days,” Akomas said.
“So, it has become necessary and imperative that that law should be reviewed. So, we have the consent of the state governor and the state House of Assembly to rewire the law to protect our children,” he said.
“We are all responsible parents and we want the good of our children and so we assembled a think tank team to review that law, which is in the process. We’ve gone far and are hoping that before the end of this month (October) we would have finished with the review,” he said.
On child adoption, Akomas said that the process is being critically reviewed because of negative things that are happening in the society, especially child trafficking, noting that they would put in measures that would reduce the incidences of abuse and recklessness in adoption.
At the event, rights advocates decried the rise in trafficking in persons which, they said, has become a thriving business, especially in Abia State, because the perpetrators of the heinous crime are not being punished.
Uche Nwokocha, coordinator, National Human Rights Commission, Abia State, obseved that the menace would continue unless the criminals are punished.
She argued that the criminals seem so powerful because they hide under the cloak of working for the government to perpetuate these crimes.
According to her, Abia State government had licensed a lot of what they call orphanages and baby jomes that are used to traffic children without the knowledge of government.
“That is the fact. So they hide under this cloak of government licence and you see them at times colluding with some government officials in doing this,” Nwokocha said.
“So, the actual criminals, the actual traffickers are not being dealt with. Those being dealt with are their victims, who innocently want to adopt a child. They are the people being punished and victimised, while the actual perpetrators are smiling to the bank,” she stated.
Stopping these criminals requires power, Nwokocha said, arguing, however, that state institutions that are supposed to correct the anomaly are weak, particularly in Abia State.
Ngozi Okechukwu, state director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Abia State, expressed excitement about the programme aimed at enlightening the girl-child on her rights as a citizen.
She said it was tragic that a girl-child should go through all kinds of exploitation, deceit manipulated by perpetrators who come in form of family members, sometimes as boyfriends, and business syndicates who traffick young girls for personal gain.
She stated that as responsible citizens of Abia State, they convened the programme to join the global force to say enough is enough.
“We can no longer live in denial that all is not well with our society and the girl-child is becoming in a most worrisome way, a victim of the many ills we are living with today,” aid Obinna Nwagbara, chief executive officer, YSAD.
“Rape and all forms of sexual molestation, physical abuses, denial of basic rights such as right to education, forced labour and marriages and the likes have become too rampant today that our response must be immediate and directed at achieving concrete outcomes in ways that tackle some of these challenges and insulate the girl-child from the horrors of an increasingly dangerous world,” he said.
Nwagbara stated that YSAD and its partners want to use the occasion to keep in the spotlight one of the worst human rights abuses directed at girls, young women and new born babies; the existence and prevalence of baby factories in Nigeria.
Baby factory, otherwise known as baby harvesting, according to him, constitutes a new trend in human trafficking.
“Baby factory involves incarceration of women, especially teenage girls, for procreation and sale of infants. Victims are subjected to physical, psychological and sexual exploitation,” he stated.
The theme of this year’s event is “To secure the rights of the girl-child, globally”.