Piqued by the increasing spate of child abuse in the country despite the passage of Child Right Act, Plan International and Save the Children International (SCI) have called on the Federal Government to enforce laws to prevent the prevalence of the menace in the society.
The international bodies during the commemoration of the 2022 Day of the African Child expressed concern that in spite of laws made at the national level and cascaded to the states, African children still faced challenges of rape and abuses with no deterrent.
SCI, in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari said: “Children are under attack by the increasing number of sexual abuse, molestation and violence, including rape, early child and forced marriage, child labour and trafficking, making them feel more unsafe, unprotected and experiencing different forms of trauma.
“Moreover, schools, students, teachers and generally education have been targeted by armed groups. Our right to safety and protection are therefore at higher risk.
The Communication Advisor of Plan International, Mr. Yunus Abdulhamid, speaking on the theme for this year’s commemoration, said; ‘Eliminating Harmful Practices affecting children: Progress on Policy and Practice’, stressed the need for punishment for every offence committed against children.
He called on stakeholders to demand stringent punishment for every offence committed against children in the society, noting that no matter how beautiful the laws could be, if not implemented, it amount to nothing.
Also, Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) Ene Obi, represented by the Director of Programmes, Mrs. Suwaiba Dankabo, said that children were no longer safe as they were often recruited into child labour across the country.
She said that the killing of twins in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in some parts of the country are still rampant, hence she called for adequate attention to stop the act.
She also asked for the right resources to be allocated for children thereby ensuring that their rights were protected irrespective of where they reside.