By Olalekan Awojodu
Abuja
The Federal government has reiterated it’s commitment to enhancing child rights by creating a specialised court where victims of rights violations especially children offenders would access justice.
The Attorney General of the Federation(AGF), Abubakar Malami gave this hint on Thursday while giving a keynote address at the project launch of the EU – UNICEF Access to Justice programme For Children held in Abuja.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Nigerian Police and the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF).
The highpoint of the two-day event was the meeting of Justice Actors to Launch the Justice for Children Coordination Forum and their inauguration.
The inaugurated entities are drawn from the FMOJ, FMWA, LACON, NAPTIP, NHRC, NSCDC, NIALS, NJI, NBA, FIDA, UNICEF, UNODC, UNDP, OHCHR, IOM, ILO, University of Abuja and the Buni Yadi Foundation.
Represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties and Research, Office of the AGF at the occasion, Professor Mohammed Lawal Ahmadu, the AGF noted that the move will not only fastrack cases and give Justice to victims, it would also strengthen the Justice system.
He said, “Judges has been assigned to be trained on the enforcement of Child Rights Act. This for me will strengthen the Justice system in line with the MDG goals.
“The AGF office have also launched the first phase of the amnesty and decongestion for Children found against the law, while the boarstal institutes across the country will be a kick-start point for the second phase.
In his address, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola described the period of childhood as delicate, saying the ministry is worried by spates of bad parenting which has led to menace like banditry, drug abuse by children and all forms of social malfunctioning beyond their mental capacity.
“The ministry of justice has done well and only need support of all stakeholders to succeed,”
Also speaking, a member of the House of Representative, representing the Chairman House Committee on Judiciary, Hon Chinyere Igwe assured stakeholders that the lawmakers will put legislative framework in place and offer support for the initiative.
Igwe who is representing Port Harcourt Constituency 2, expressed hope that the synergy will ensure a better delivery and acceptable outcome
Also speaking, the UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Mr Peter Hawkins lauded the programme aimed at protecting the child, saying it would also aid the country’s legal system.
“We must create a system to know what affects children directly and launched a coordinated structure to tackle it. This programme is therefore timely as it would help all stakeholders in boosting and pulling resources together in line with the law to protect the children, “
In his goodwill message,, the Director General Nigerian Institute of Legal Studies, Professor Mohammed Tawfiq Ladan expressed worry that about 60% of inmates in prisons are children, advocating that all stakeholders should help identify the refractions of such rights and help them seek redress.
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